No easing as UK deaths hit 11,329

LONDON: The death toll from Covid19 in Britain rose to 11,329 yesterday and the Government, which is having to operate without its convalescing leader, Boris Johnson, signalled there would be no easing of lockdown measures this week.

The death toll is the fifthhighest globally.

The Government has had to defend its response to the outbreak, with complaints of insufficient testing and protective gear for medics and questions about whether Johnson, before he fell ill with Covid19, was too slow to impose a lockdown.

‘‘Amidst this sobering death toll, there are also some positive signs from the data that we are starting to win this struggle,’’ Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, deputising for Johnson, said.

‘‘But we still have a long way to go. We’re still not past the peak of this virus,’’ Raab said.

The Government’s panel of scientific advisers is due to review the evidence on the effectiveness of social distancing measures this week, but Raab hinted it was unlikely to result in any easing of restrictions.

Chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said he expected the number of daily deaths from coronavirus to continue to rise this week, then to plateau for two to three weeks before falling.

There has been widespread sympathy for Johnson over his illness, but in his absence the Government faces daunting tradeoffs between the needs of the health service and of the economy, with national morale also at stake.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has told colleagues GDP could shrink by up to 30% this quarter because of the coronavirus lockdown, The Times newspaper reported, adding Sunak was pushing for restrictions to be eased.

On the other hand, a relentless flow of grim news ensured that the human cost of the outbreak remained in sharp focus.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty told the news conference 13.5% of resthomes across the country had reported coronavirus outbreaks, including 92 in the past 24 hours alone.

In County Durham in northern England, the Stanley Park resthome confirmed 13 of its residents had died after displaying symptoms of Covid19.

At the Downing Street news conference, Raab was defensive when asked if the Government should have introduced the lockdown sooner and whether it would have saved lives — a recurring question as the death toll has risen.

‘‘I don’t think it is clear. I don’t think those comparisons [with countries such as South Korea] are like for like because of where we are on the curve,’’ he said.

Asked to apologise to National Health Service staff who have reported a lack of personal protective equipment on the frontline, he did not do so. — Reuters

❛ Amidst this sobering death toll, there are also some positive signs from the data that we are starting

to win this struggle