Reuters
Closed businesses are seen in Blackpool, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, Blackpool, Britain, April 13, 2020.
- The UK government is considering winding back the national coronavirus lockdown as early as May with some shops and schools able to re-open.
- Senior members of Boris Johnson's government are pushing for the lockdown to end as soon as possible amid growing fears of an extreme economic downturn, the Times of London reported.
- "There's a point where there just isn't anything to come back to," one government source told the paper.
- The government is set to announce a three-week extension to the current national lockdown measures on Thursday.
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The UK could begin to wind back its coronavirus lockdown measures as early as May amid growing government fears about the severe economic impact of current restrictions.
Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he continues his recovery from coronavirus, indicated on Tuesday that the government would extend the current lockdown until May, saying it was "far too early" to relax current measures yet.
However, ministers are pushing for parts of the UK economy to be restored as soon as possible, amid concern that an extended lockdown could inflict catastrophic long-term damage on the economy.
"There's a point where there just isn't anything to come back to," one government source told the Times of London newspaper.
The source added: "You've got to give businesses some idea that they will be trading by mid-summer."
Under plans being considered by ministers, the UK government could allow some shops currently designated as "non-essential" to re-open or to allow a broader re-opening of those premises which are capable of maintaining social-distancing.
Ministers are also considering plans to restart the manufacturing and construction industries.
Schools could also be reopened, although ministers have doubts about whether many parents would be willing to let their children return to school.
Some members of the government fear that the UK public could be particularly resistant to any attempt to lift the lockdown.
International polling by Kekst CNC found that 74% of British people prioritise tackling the infection even if it means extra costs to the economy, compared to 61% of people in the United States and 54% in Germany and Sweden, the Times reported.
"You could open every sports stadium in the country but I'm not sure you'd get many takers," one senior minister told the paper.
The decision comes as the UK's death toll rose to 11,329 as of 5pm on Sunday, according to the Department of Health.
European countries start to ease the coronavirus lockdown
Reuters
People keep social distance as they wait to enter a supermarket amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain April 14, 2020.
Some European countries have started to relax their own strict lockdown measures amid concerns about the economic impact of shuttering businesses for too long.In Spain, where almost 17,500 people have died after being infected with the coronavirus, people in manufacturing, construction, and some who work in the services industry are being allowed to return to work, the BBC reported.
In Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe where more than 20,000 people have died, a small number of businesses will be able to restart operations on Tuesday.
Dominic Raab emphasised on Monday that the government would not ease the lockdown too early because it would "risk a second wave" of infections.
"We don't expect to make any changes to the measures currently in place at that point and we won't until we're confident, as confident as we realistically can be, that any such changes can be safely made," he said at a Downing Street press conference.
He admitted the government had been concerned last week "that people might start ignoring the advice or cutting corners given the temptation to go out into the sunshine," but said that the "overwhelming" majority of people had stayed at home.
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