‘Several more weeks’ of staying in

The coronavirus lockdown will have to remain in place for “several more weeks” scientists have warned as ministers appealed to public to stay at home for Easter.

Experts advising the Government on the crisis said the social-distancing measures introduced last month appeared to be working better than expected.

However they insisted there could be no relaxation of the restrictions until it was clear the peak of the epidemic was past.

With fine weather forecast for many parts of the country over the long bank holiday weekend, minister fear people may flout the rules and flock to beaches and beauty spots.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies would be studying the evidence but they would not be to say more until the end of the week.

Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director for Public Health England (PHE), said the while there were signs the spread of the disease was slowing, it was likely the restrictions would still be needed for several weeks.

“It really does look like the numbers are flattening. That is really important because that is the first sign that we may be getting to the peak of this pandemic,” he said.

“I think several weeks isn’t unreasonable. Let’s hope its sooner than that. Just for now, we are getting on top of this but we have got an awfully long way to go.”

Prof Cosford suggested one of the first measures could be to allow schools to re-open.

“We do know that children are at very low risk of getting complications from this disease. The importance of children’s education, children being in school, is paramount,” he said.

“I could conceive of circumstances in which some of the restrictions are lifted sooner and some are lifted later.”