Coronavirus: Boris Johnson declares Britain ‘past the peak’ of outbreak

Boris Johnson says Britain is finally past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak as the government faces pressure to relax lockdown restrictions.

Boris Johnson has declared Britain is “past the peak” of its coronavirus outbreak. Picture: Andrew Parsons/Downing Street/AFP

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Britain is now past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak and has promised to set out a lockdown exit strategy next week despite rising deaths and criticism of his government’s response.

Holding his first news conference since recovering from COVID-19, and a day after his fiancee gave birth, Mr Johnson offered hope to locked-down Britons but urged them to stick with restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus.

“I can confirm today that for the first time, we are past the peak of this disease,” he said.

“We’re past the peak and we’re on the downward slope, and we have so many reasons to be hopeful for the long term.”

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Boris Johnson says Britain is past the peak of its coronavirus outbreak but lockdown measures will continue for now. Picture: AFP/Andrew Parsons

Nevertheless, Britain now has the second-highest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe with more than 26,000 deaths.

That has put pressure on the government over its response to the outbreak and is fuelling caution in lifting restrictions on movement in case that leads to a second spike.

But, with rising unemployment and many companies crippled, the government is coming under pressure to outline an exit strategy.

Mr Johnson promised to set out next week a “menu of options” on how the lockdown could be relaxed but said the exact dates of any change would be driven by scientific advice and data.

Britain now has the second-highest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA via AP

More than 172,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the UK. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP

The government is also facing questions over its likely failure to meet a target Heath Minister Matt Hancock set of carrying out 100,000 daily tests for the virus by the end of April, with testing seen as key to ending the lockdown.

The opposition Labour Party has accused the government of being slow to react to the crisis, by delaying the imposition of the lockdown and then failing to ramp up the provision of protective equipment to frontline staff and the number of tests.