Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would present the government’s plans to ease the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown on Sunday.“We will, of course, be setting out the details about that plan on Sunday,” Johnson said on Wednesday during his first appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament after undergoing treatment for COVID-19.
The prime minister was questioned by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer regarding the decision to publish the plan on Sunday, giving lawmakers little time to debate which measures will be relaxed.
“The reason for that is very simple. We have to be sure that the data is going to support our ability to do this.
“We’ll want, if we possibly can, to get going with some of these measures on Monday,” Johnson said. The UK has been in lockdown since March 23, after the government observed a significant rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
At present, UK citizens are only allowed to leave their homes to travel to work, to shop for essentials, for medical appointments, or to exercise once per day. On Tuesday, the UK overtook Italy to register the second-highest COVID-19 death toll since the start of the outbreak.
Only the U.S. has confirmed more coronavirus-related deaths. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Tuesday that 693 people had died due to complications from the disease over the preceding 24 hours, a significant rise from the 288 deaths announced on Monday.