The Telegraph reports that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is to dash hopes that a lockdown will be lifted soon. The article in the Telegraph explained that the PM will say it is too early for major easing as figures show the UK could have one of the world's worst death rates.
Lead paragraphs
Boris Johnson will on Thursday warn the nation not to expect major changes to the lockdown after it emerged Britain has one of the world’s worst coronavirus death rates.
The Prime Minister will use his first Downing Street press conference since his return to work to explain why social restrictions must largely remain in place. Data published by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday show Spain and Belgium are the only two countries with a worse per-head death rate than Britain.
On eight separate days this month, more than 1,000 people died of the virus, detailed statistics for accumulated deaths in hospitals, care homes and other settings showed.
Mr Johnson will chair a Cabinet meeting on Thursday morning at which ministers will discuss the way forward, but it became clear on Wednesday that they favour a highly cautious approach to lifting the restrictions ...
Market implications
That is not a good look for GBP. The pound has been inundated with a number of bearish factors. The speculation about an eventual gradual exit from the restrictive measures was about the only mildly positive thing going for sterling besides a broadly weaker dollar pertaining to renewed risk-on sentiment. The virus is a fluid situation and the only certainty is more uncertainty and that likely leads to volatility and risks for the pound.
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