Encouraging news, on the eve of the return of Boris Johnson, also affected by the Covid-19, to his post as Prime Minister. This Sunday, the UK recorded an additional 413 hospital deaths from patients with coronavirus. For the first time since the end of March, this figure marks a clear decline. It brings the total toll to 20,732 dead in the country.
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This new assessment also contrasts sharply with that announced the day before, with a spectacular decrease since 813 deaths had been recorded between Friday and Saturday. However, it is still too early to draw conclusions on a possible lull: the figures communicated every day by the British public health service, the NHS, are very volatile and can take into account deaths that occurred much earlier.
Environment Minister John Eustice noted "encouraging signs" during the daily press conference at Downing Street. One of the heads of the British health services, Steven Powis, also pointed out a reduction in the number of patients admitted to hospitals, as well as a decrease in the number of patients in intensive care. But the government rules out any premature easing of the measures taken which would run the risk of a second peak. The United Kingdom is one of the most severely affected countries in Europe and the number of victims looks even heavier with deaths in retirement homes, not included in the daily balance sheet, which number in the thousands according to players in the sector.
A "delicate and dangerous stage" of the crisis
This Sunday is also a trying day for the British government, which has yet to delay in the face of increasing pressure to unveil its plans for containment. The British have been forced into home isolation for more than a month.
Will the return to work of Boris Johnson, released from the hospital on April 12, be a game-changer? Since his recovery, after going through intensive care, linked to his contamination with Covid-19, his team has come under criticism for his management of a crisis that promises to be a long one. Between calls to restart the economic machine as quickly as possible and caution against a slackening that would wipe out the benefit of the sacrifices thus far made, expectations are high for the head of the Conservative government to detail his plans for the country, where the containment established on March 23 remains in effect at least until May 7.
According to its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominic Raab, the country is at a "delicate and dangerous stage" of the crisis, considering that it "would not be responsible for starting to speculate on the individual measures" which will be taken for the continuation .