UK Moves In To Next Phase Of Easing Lock Down

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced details of the next phase in England where lock down measures would be eased He explained that the five main targets that the government set had been met. These are:

Make sure that the NHS can cope. It has been clear for a number of weeks that the NHS is in a good position to manage the number of patients being admitted with Covid 19. There has been a lot of work taking place to free up hospital beds and ensure that there is enough capacity in different areas. About a third of the 1000, 000 plus beds have been emptied. This is due to the fact that routine procedures have been cancelled or postponed meaning Community Services could take care of patients who are recovering in hospitals. Operating theatres and recovery rooms were transformed into intensive care wards and new ventilators bought or borrowed from private hospitals, doubling capacity.

There has been a sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rate. Data shows that the peak of the pandemic was in the second week of April and is now reducing.

Rate of infection decreasing to manageable levels. This is known as the R rate and is currently between 0.7 and 1 in England. This is a Mathematical term which indicates how contagious a disease is. R0 tells you the average number of people who will contract a contagious disease from one person with that disease. It specifically applies to a population of people who were previously free of infection and haven’t been vaccinated.

For example, if a disease has an R0 of 18, a person who has the disease will transmit it to an average of 18 other people. That replication will continue if no one has been vaccinated against the disease or is already immune to it in their community.

Ensure supply of tests and PPE can meet future demand. The UK has a capacity to carry out 100, 000 tests a day. This is if you count tests posted to individuals and care homes. This is a lot better than what it was in March where the UK could only carry out 10, 000 tests a day.

Being confident any adjustments would not risk a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS. There will need to be a suitable vaccine to ensure that there isn't a second peak and we can keep the number of potential cases down. Based on this information it is clear that we're getting close to the point where we can ease lock down regulations. It still depends on how the testing and tracing pilot tests proceed on the Isle Of Wight.

It is now clear that the government's five tests are being met and this means that they will now move on to the next phase of lifting the lock down. This includes the reopening of schools in phases, relaxing some social contact measures, and allowing non-essential retail stores to reopen while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has also set out plans for the Coronavirus furlough scheme where employers pay 80% towards a persons salary to finish in October. From August, employers must pay National Insurance and pension contributions, then 10% of pay from September, rising to 20% in October.

Mr Sunak said the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will adjust so "those who are able to work can do so".

Some 8.4 million workers are having 80% of their salaries paid for by the government - up to £2,500 a month - under the scheme, which was originally intended to last until the end of July.