Government ministers are plotting the end of the coronavirus lockdown amid fears that many businesses won’t survive if it continues beyond June.
A team has been tasked with drafting options where restrictions would be lifted only when the number of new hospital admissions begins to drop, it is reported.
When Boris Johnson announced the lockdown two weeks ago, he said the unprecedented measures would be in place until April 13 and then reviewed, but no change is expected next week.
The death toll has soared amid signs that the infection rate is starting to slow, although the peak of Britain’s epidemic won’t come for another two to three weeks.
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The Prime Minister was undergoing tests in hospital as he continues to suffer from Covid-19 symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the new strain of coronavirus.
It comes as ministers discuss how and when to ease the lockdown when the number of new hospital admissions begin to fall, the Times reported.
Treasury officials had warned that if the lockdown went beyond June the Government would not be able to prevent profitable industries from going bust.
The Treasury has asked health and business civil servants to come up with scenarios for lifting the restrictions in stages.
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It could be done by region, industrial sector or by expanding the list of key workers, the report added.
The exit strategy is expected to include an dramatic increase in community testing.
The Government has already pledged to carry out 100,000 tests a day by the end of April and it is still committed to its goal of 250,000 tests a day.
A spokeswoman for No10 told Mirror Online the Government will review the measures after three weeks and it has not set out any further timeline of when the lockdown could end.
In the meantime, Health Secretary Matt Hancock is urging Britons to continue to follow the lockdown and social distancing rules in a bid to curb the spread of the virus.
After police broke up picnics and forced sunbathers to move on at parks and beaches during a warm and sunny weekend, Mr Hancock warned that tougher restrictions on outdoor exercise would be imposed if people continue to flout lockdown rules.
The Health Secretary also denied a rift with Chancellor Rishi Sunak amid claims that there have been clashes at the top of Government over the exit strategy.
The Chancellor is reportedly pushing for a path to be mapped out towards lifting the restrictions to help limit damage to the economy.
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New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the Government to publish its exit strategy so that Britons know what it is, when the restrictions might be lifted and what the plan is for economic recovery.
Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial College in London, said the epidemic was expected to plateau in the next seven to 10 days.
He said cases had to come down to a low point before measures such as increased testing and contact tracing could replace some of the lockdown restrictions.
What is the UK’s exit strategy?
Thoughts are turning to how the UK will end its period of lockdown and start the transition back to normal life.
No precise exit strategy has yet been formed, though Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College, who is advising the Government, said experts are looking at it in detail this week.
Ending the lockdown will rely on a substantial slowdown in the epidemic of Covid-19 – the so-called “flattening the curve” – and a downward trend, which has not yet happened in the UK.
The number of deaths is also still rising as the UK moves towards the peak of its epidemic, which is expected within the next week to 10 days.
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Will the virus come back?
The virus is still out there. Just letting people resume their normal lives all at once will undoubtedly lead to a second wave of coronavirus cases and the re-introduction of severe restrictions.
So, the aim is to gradually lift the lid on controls while watching what happens with the spread of Covid-19 in the community.
If cases can be kept to a lower level – and the NHS can cope with them – then restrictions may slowly be lifted.
This could include a series of “short releases”, such as lifting controls by region or by asking vulnerable people and those most at risk to continue staying at home.
It could involve schools reopening or some businesses being allowed to open their doors.
What about testing?
Experts agree that much more testing is needed to get the UK out of lockdown.
At present, the UK has no real grip on how many people are currently infected and what proportion may already be immune to the disease.
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The great hope is that an antibody test will soon prove reliable enough to be sold on the high street so that those people who have had the virus can resume normal life.
But these tests have produced poor results so far, and none have been deemed good enough for widespread use by Public Health England (PHE).
Once the virus is circulating at a low level, experts also hope to return to contact tracing in the hope of controlling future outbreaks.
This involves isolating individuals who have been infected, contact tracing all the people they have been in touch with and stopping the chain of transmission.
Are we close to getting a vaccine?
At best, most scientists think it will be 12 months before there is a vaccine to protect against coronavirus.
Many agree that people cannot be expected to stay indoors for that long.
So the hope is that, until a vaccine is available, some existing drugs could be re-purposed to help reduce the severity of the illness.
Another option is looking to herd immunity – where so many people have already been infected with Covid-19 that the virus struggles to spread.
While the Government insists this is not a policy aim, over time it may just become a reality.
