THE Foreign Secretary said it is 'still too early' to lift the lockdown restrictions which are in place across the UK.

Speaking at the daily No 10 news conference Dominic Raab said the restrictions will remain in place 'until we have got evidence that shows we have moved beyond the peak.'

He said: “It’s been almost three weeks and we’re starting to see the impact of the sacrifices we’ve all made.

“But the deaths are still rising and we haven’t yet reached the peak of the virus. So it’s still too early to lift the measures that we put in place.

“We must stick to the plan and we must continue to be guided by the science.”

On the lockdown measures, Mr Raab said “we’re not done yet” before adding data is being gathered on the impact of social-distancing.

He said: “While the early signs suggest that they are having the impact we need to see, it’s too early to say that conclusively.

“Sage will meet next week to discuss the latest evidence and we will keep the measures we’ve put in place under review.

“We don’t expect to be able to say more on this until the end of next week.

“The measures will have to stay in place until we’ve got the evidence that clearly shows we’ve moved beyond the peak.

“After all the efforts everybody has made, after all the sacrifices so many people have made let’s not ruin it now.

“Let’s not undo the gains we’ve made, let’s not waste the sacrifices so many people have made.

“We mustn’t give the coronavirus a second chance to kill more people and to hurt our country.”

The Foreign Secretary also gave an update on the Prime Minister's condition and said he is still in intensive care but he 'continues to make positive steps forward' and is in 'good spirits.'

Mr Raab said 243,421 people have been tested for the virus, 65,077 have tested positive, and the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms now stands at 16,784.

“And of those who have contracted the virus, 7,978 have sadly died and our thoughts and our prayers are with their family and friends,” Mr Raab said.

Sir Patrick Vallance said it is important to continue with the measures in place.

He said: “The measures that everybody has taken, the difficult things that we’ve all had to do, are making a difference, they’re making a big difference.

“We know that the social distancing is working and we know that people are doing what they’re supposed to do and we need to keep doing that.

“And the reason we need to keep doing that is because it stops the transmission of the virus in the community and we know that that is already happening.”

He added: “The message is clear which is the social distancing we’re doing is breaking transmission, it’s stopping the hospital admissions, beginning to see that flattening off, still unbelievably busy but beginning to see that flatten off, it’s preventing more people going into intensive care and it will prevent deaths.”