The UK is unlikely to lift the state of emergency until the end of May

The United Kingdom is unlikely to remove the rigorous rules of the blockade by the end of May, said a leading government adviser. He warned that the spread of the coronavirus must first be slowed down and intensive tests put in place.

The government has put the UK under widespread blockade, shutting down establishments, restaurants, and almost all shops, while ordering people to stay home if it is not necessary to go out.

The measure aims to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country, which has nearly 47,800 confirmed cases and 4,934 deaths, but some experts are beginning to wonder whether closing the economy will not cost more lives in the long run.

Initially, the UK took a prudent approach to the pandemic, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson changed his stance and imposed stringent social distance measures after a Ferguson model showed that a quarter of a million people in the country could die.

Since then, the response has been hampered by the lack of breathalyzers and the inability to perform mass tests to determine whether people, especially healthcare professionals, have built up immunity.

Graham Medley, another senior government advisor and head of pandemic modeling, fears that the UK has found itself in a corner without a clear exit from a strategy that could hurt many people’s economies and mental health.

Nearly one million people in the UK have applied for social assistance in just two weeks, according to official figures that the economy is headed for depression and maybe worse than the collapse of the 1930s.

Health Minister Matt Hancock has set himself the goal of completing 100,000 tests per day by the end of this month, 10 times more than current levels, but industry leaders fear this will not be possible due to a lack of tests. Immunity certificates are also discussed.

The government has announced that it will release prisoners who have been considered low-risk and who have several weeks left of their sentences.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who isolates himself after giving a positive result to the new coronavirus, said he would invite opposition leaders to a meeting next week with the UK’s chief health inspector and scientific consultant.

“As party leaders, we have a duty to work together at this time of the state of emergency throughout the country”, said the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.