Boris Johnson says the UK is 'past the peak' of the coronavirus

• The UK is past the peak of its coronavirus crisis, Boris Johnsons says.
• The prime minister said "we're past the peak and we're on the downward slope" on Thursday.
• Johnson at the government's daily press conference said he would next week unveil a "comprehensive plan" for re-opening the econony, schools, and workplaces.
• The government will decide next week whether to extend the nationwide lockdown.
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The UK is past the peak of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced.

Speaking at the government's daily press conference, and his first since being hospitalised with the virus, Johnson said: "I can confirm today that for the first time we are past the peak of this disease."

He added: "We're past the peak and we're on the downward slope."

The UK prime minister said that next week he would unveil a "comprehensive plan" for eventually re-opening the economy, schools, and workplaces, but warned that it was too soon to remove lockdown measures.

Johnson and senior government ministers and officials will decide next week whether to extend the lockdown in its current form or instead modify measures. The UK government has said that it could both relax and tighten measures.

Johnson said that the "R" — the rate at which the virus spreads among people — was below one, as a result of the general public's adherence to the social distancing measures his government introduced last month.