The assessment of the new coronavirus in the United Kingdom increased by 684 dead in hospital on Friday April 24, more than the day before (+616), bringing to 19,506 in the country the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to health authorities.
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According to the Ministry of Health, 143,464 people (+5,386) tested positive in the country, one of the hardest hit in Europe. The authorities' assessment does not, however, take into account retirement homes where, according to sector representatives, several thousand elderly people have died. The country is still awaiting the return to the helm of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been recovering since his discharge from hospital on April 12 after being badly hit by the coronavirus. Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominic Raab takes over the interim.
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Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Friday morning that the head of government "is in very good shape" , but did not confirm reports from the Daily Telegraph, a newspaper close to Boris Johnson, that the Conservative leader would take over the reins of the country Monday. "I spoke to him yesterday (Thursday) , he is in very good shape and he is clearly recovering ," he said on Sky News. "I am sure he will come back as soon as his doctors recommend him," said the Minister of Health. And the latter adds: "The decision has not been made but he takes calls and stays in contact"
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Spokesman Boris Johnson, 55, met with President Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II this week. The British Prime Minister recovers at Checkers, the country residence of British heads of government, alongside his fiancée Carrie Symonds, who is expecting the couple's first child. "He looked incredible. I was actually surprised, ” said Donald Trump at a press conference on Thursday. "It's like old Boris. Phenomenal energy. Phenomenal dynamism ”.
Avoid a second wave
Despite the mounting pressure, including among the conservative ranks, the government has ruled out for the time being any relaxation of the containment, introduced on March 23 and which must continue for at least two more weeks, or to detail its strategy to get out of it. But it already plans, when the number of contaminations will have clearly decreased, to deploy a plan to trace the contacts of sick people or showing symptoms, via an application of the public health system, in order to avoid "a second wave".
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The United Kingdom is facing the "peak" of the pandemic and it is "too early" to relax the measures in place, for fear of suffering a "second wave" , insisted Matt Hancock. Conversely, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Thursday that Scotland would gradually come out of confinement, without excluding new confinements in the future if necessary, and assured that social distancing measures would remain in place over time.
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