LONDON (AP) — British Health Secretary Matt Hancock says it is too soon to determine whether the peak of coronavirus infections in the country has passed.
That’s despite data suggesting that the rate of increase in the number of people being hospitalised with the Covid-19 disease is levelling out.
Hancock tells BBC radio that the “good news” is that the number of hospital admissions shows signs of flattening out. However, he says the government requires more evidence before it can start making changes to its lockdown measures.
Britain has been in lockdown for nearly three weeks and the government is expected to extend the restrictions in coming days.
On Friday, the government said a total of 8,958 people had died in hospital after testing positive for the new coronavirus, up 980 from the previous day. That daily increase was bigger than anything witnessed in Italy and Spain, the two European countries with the greatest number of coronavirus-linked fatalities.
Hancock also says that 19 front-line workers in the National Health Service have died after contracting the virus.