UK extends national lockdown 'for at least' another three weeks

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Former Advisor to Lady Thatcher Nile Gardiner joins Trace Gallagher to discuss how the United Kingdom has handled the coronavirus.

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The U.K. government announced Thursday that it intends to extend its national lockdown for at least another three weeks, saying there were “indications” that the strategy has been working -- but reversing it risks a significant increase in the spread of the coronavirus.

“There are indications that the measures we put in place have been successful in slowing down the spread of this virus,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told reporters.

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Britain has been under a strict lockdown since March 23, with schools, restaurants and nonessential business all closed. Brits are only allowed to leave for essential trips and short exercise -- something that has been strictly enforced by police.

Raab went on to say that SAGE -- the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies -- said there was a “mixed and inconsistent” picture on the state of the country, and infections could still be increasing in some areas.

Therefore, the advisers said, any change to the strategy would lead to further spread, more infections and a “substantial increase” in the number of deaths

“It would undo the progress we’ve made to date and as a result would require an even longer period of the more restrictive social distancing measures,” he said.

“Based on this advice... the government has decided that the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks,” Raab added.

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As of Thursday, at least 13,729 people had died in U.K. hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus, an increase of 861 from a day earlier.

Raab has been serving as the public face of the government’s response to the coronavirus since Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to the hospital earlier this month with ongoing coronavirus symptoms.

He was sent home on Sunday, but officials said he would not immediately return to work.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.