Scientist urges patience before 17 May lockdown relaxation
The pandemic arrived in the UK with about 1,500 separate imported cases of the virus, Sir Mark said, and the Office of National Statistics suggests there are still 4,600 cases a day.
"There's the potential for that spark to reignite, it seems increasingly unlikely, but we need to get the numbers down," he said. If the data continues in the right direction, the next stage of relaxation in England will go ahead on 17 May, Sir Mark said. "It is all very good news, we are getting very close and we just need to be patient for a short period," he said.
He said all the data is "significantly ahead of the assumptions in the model" used to draw up the roadmap out of lockdown.He said "every day places are closed and more go bust" and the "devastation" on UK High Streets is the worst he has seen in 30 years.