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Britain is braced for the extension of lockdown measures in place to stop the spread of coronavirus as the death toll continues to rise.
Ministers have urged the public to not put at risk the gains made in the fight against Covid-19 by not keeping to the restrictions.
But the measures face their toughest test so far over the Easter weekend, with temperatures set to reach 25C in some parts of the country.
A Cobra emergency committee to discuss the future of the measures will be held later on Thursday.
The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson while he remains in intensive care with the virus.
However, with Wednesday seeing a rise of 938 in the number of deaths in hospitals – the highest new total so far -there seems little chance of the lockdown being lifted.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak refused to “speculate” about the future of the lockdown, instead confirming there would be a review of the measures “in and around three weeks” after they started.
The three-week mark will be reached on Easter Monday, while legislation designed to assist with the containment must also be reviewed at least once every 21 days.
The first review is due to be carried out by April 16 at the latest.
Mr Sunak sidestepped questions about the prospect of different parts of the UK emerging from the lockdown at different times.
Deputy chief scientific adviser Professor Dame Angela McLean, addressing the same question, said she suspected “simple strategies might well turn out to be the best to use”.
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford earlier said the lockdown will not end in Wales next week, insisting “we will not throw away the gains” by “abandoning our efforts just as they begin to bear fruit”.
Debate about the lockdown took place as Downing Street offered more hopeful news about the Prime Minister.
Number 10 said Mr Johnson remains in intensive care but is making “steady progress”, with further updates expected on Thursday.
Mr Sunak said the PM was “sitting up in bed” and “engaging positively” with the medics treating him for Covid-19 at St Thomas’s Hospital in London on Wednesday.
But the boost came as the nation saw its record number of deaths in hospitals, with a rise of 938 taking the toll to at least 7,097, according to Department of Health figures.
Though significantly larger than the previous highest toll of 786, Prof McLean said new cases are not “accelerating out of control”.
At the daily Downing Street press conference, Mr Sunak unveiled a £750 million bailout to keep struggling charities afloat in the Treasury’s latest emergency measure.
London on Coronavirus lockdown
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A woman jogging near City Hall, London, the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown
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Police in Westminster
Jeremy Selwyn
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Waterloo station looking empty
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Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed.
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Getty Images
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An empty Millenium Bridge
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A quiet Parliament Square
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PABest
A man walks along a passageway at London’s Oxford Street Underground station the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the Coronavirus
PA
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A deserted Piccadilly Circus
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A general view is seen of a deserted Trafalgar Square
AFP via Getty Images
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Getty Images
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The iconic Abbey Road crossing is seen after a re-paint by a Highways Maintenance team as they take advantage of the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown and quiet streets to refresh the markings
Getty Images
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A view of 20 Fenchurch Street (the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building) in the City of London, the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
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A deserted Chinatown
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A person looks at graffiti on a JD Wetherspoon pub in Crystal Palace, south London. Wetherspoons workers have described founder Tim Martin’s lack of support for his chain’s 40,000 employees as “absolutely outrageous”
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The London ExCel centre that may be turned into a makeshift NHS Hospital and critical care unit to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic
PA
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The Palace Theatre, which usually shows the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, sits in a deserted Shaftesbury Avenue
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The Sondheim Theatre, which usually shows the Les Miserables musical, sits in a deserted Shaftesbury Avenue
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Two members of a British Army mounted regiment exercise their horses in Parliament Square
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Westminster Bridge is deserted
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Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge
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A quiet Canary Wharf Underground Station
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An empty street and bus stop at St James’s Park
AFP via Getty Images
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Whitehall
Jeremy Selwyn
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A quiet Canary Wharf Underground Station
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A single pedestrian walks past The national Gallery
AFP via Getty Images
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London Bridge Station
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Kings Cross and St Pancras
Jeremy Selwyn
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Buckingham Palace looking empty in London,
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London Bridge Station
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Kings Cross and St Pancras
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London Bridge Station
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Kings Cross and St Pancras
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London Bridge Station
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London Bridge Station
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London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
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London’s Carnaby Street empty as shops closed after a lockdown was announced in the latest bid to stop the spread of coronavirus through the UK
AP
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A quiet Jubilee line westbound train carriage
PA
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A single pedestrian walks past The national Gallery
AFP via Getty Images
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A quiet Canary Wharf Underground Station
PA
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Empty Embankment
Jeremy Selwyn
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A woman jogging near City Hall, London, the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown
PA
2/41
Police in Westminster
Jeremy Selwyn
3/41
Waterloo station looking empty
PA
4/41
Novikov restaurant in London with its shutters pulled down while the restaurant is closed.
5/41
Getty Images
6/41
An empty Millenium Bridge
PA
7/41
A quiet Parliament Square
Getty Images
8/41
PABest
A man walks along a passageway at London’s Oxford Street Underground station the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the Coronavirus
PA
9/41
A deserted Piccadilly Circus
PA
10/41
A general view is seen of a deserted Trafalgar Square
AFP via Getty Images
11/41
Getty Images
12/41
The iconic Abbey Road crossing is seen after a re-paint by a Highways Maintenance team as they take advantage of the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown and quiet streets to refresh the markings
Getty Images
13/41
A view of 20 Fenchurch Street (the ‘Walkie Talkie’ building) in the City of London, the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
14/41
A deserted Chinatown
PA
15/41
A person looks at graffiti on a JD Wetherspoon pub in Crystal Palace, south London. Wetherspoons workers have described founder Tim Martin’s lack of support for his chain’s 40,000 employees as “absolutely outrageous”
PA
16/41
The London ExCel centre that may be turned into a makeshift NHS Hospital and critical care unit to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic
PA
17/41
The Palace Theatre, which usually shows the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play, sits in a deserted Shaftesbury Avenue
PA
18/41
The Sondheim Theatre, which usually shows the Les Miserables musical, sits in a deserted Shaftesbury Avenue
PA
19/41
Two members of a British Army mounted regiment exercise their horses in Parliament Square
AP
20/41
Westminster Bridge is deserted
PA
21/41
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge
Getty Images
22/41
A quiet Canary Wharf Underground Station
PA
23/41
An empty street and bus stop at St James’s Park
AFP via Getty Images
24/41
Whitehall
Jeremy Selwyn
25/41
A quiet Canary Wharf Underground Station
PA
26/41
A single pedestrian walks past The national Gallery
AFP via Getty Images
27/41
London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
28/41
Kings Cross and St Pancras
Jeremy Selwyn
29/41
Buckingham Palace looking empty in London,
PA
30/41
London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
31/41
Kings Cross and St Pancras
Jeremy Selwyn
32/41
London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
33/41
Kings Cross and St Pancras
Jeremy Selwyn
34/41
London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
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London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
36/41
London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
37/41
London’s Carnaby Street empty as shops closed after a lockdown was announced in the latest bid to stop the spread of coronavirus through the UK
AP
38/41
A quiet Jubilee line westbound train carriage
PA
39/41
A single pedestrian walks past The national Gallery
AFP via Getty Images
40/41
A quiet Canary Wharf Underground Station
PA
41/41
Empty Embankment
Jeremy Selwyn
Many charities welcomed the move but some also warned it must be the start – and not the end – of the Government’s efforts in protecting the sector.
Providing an update on Mr Johnson, a Downing Street spokeswoman said on Wednesday night: “The Prime Minister continues to make steady progress. He remains in intensive care.”
Number 10 earlier said the PM was no longer working while following the advice of doctors, and receiving just the “standard oxygen treatment” and “breathing without any other assistance”.
The PM’s three-week review into the lockdown measures had been due on Monday, but Downing Street is now saying it will be “on or around” that day.
Mr Sunak said the evidence to inform any review “will only be available next week”.
In Northern Ireland, Stormont minister Deirdre Hargey indicated there will be no relaxation of restrictions there at next week’s review.
Though the death toll rose, Prof McLean said there was “good news” in the daily number of new cases, which is a better indicator of whether distancing measures are working than fatalities.
“This count of new cases in the UK, day by day over the last few weeks, is not accelerating out of control,” she said.
NHS England’s national medical director Professor Stephen Powis warned that “this is not the time to become complacent”, however.
“We are beginning to see the benefits, I believe (of following Government measures), but the really critical thing, I believe, is that we have to continue following instructions, we have to continue following social distancing, because if we don’t, the virus will start to spread again,” he said.
Elsewhere, the Royal College of Nursing warned a lack of protective equipment is “fundamentally compromising” the care nurses can give to patients.
Premier League players joined forces to create an initiative which aims to raise funds for NHS charities during the coronavirus pandemic and distribute them “where they are needed most”.
The Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News also announced they will go into liquidation as the crisis continued to devastate the media industry.
And World Health Organisation regional director Dr Hans Kluge said any easing of restrictions required “very careful consideration” as he warned progress in Europe remained “extremely fragile”.