UK may ease bans next week

Prime minister pledges a doubling of testing capacity by the end of May

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signaled that the United Kingdom could start easing some of its novel coronavirus lockdown measures from Monday, while also committing to a new goal of doubling testing capacity to "200,000 per day by the end of the month".

During his first clash with new Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in Parliament on Wednesday, Johnson confirmed he would clarify plans to begin lifting the lockdown on Sunday.

The government announced it had hit its target of 100,000 tests on Friday, but that number has since fallen back. The prime minister said "capacity currently exceeds demand "and the government was taking steps to address that.

Ministers and scientific advisers have stressed that the country has passed the initial peak and that a new strategy of "test, track and trace "will be rolled out to stop further spikes overwhelming the National Health Service.

Johnson also said he "bitterly regrets" the virus crisis in care homes. He said: "It has been enraging to see the difficulties we've had in supplying PPE (personal protective equipment) to those who need it," but that the government is now "engaged in a massive plan to ramp up domestic supply".

During Wednesday's news briefing, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed the number of UK deaths attributed to COVID-19 had increased by 649, taking the nation's toll to 30,076, which remains the highest in Europe. However, data from the Office of National Statistics released on Tuesday showed the UK's true fatality toll was about 3,000 more.

It comes as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is reported to be considering winding down the UK government's furlough program from July.

Official figures show that around a fifth of the workforce has been furloughed, while more than 2 million have applied for unemployment benefits since the start of the lockdown.

The program - that allows employers to furlough workers on 80 percent of regular pay - has been crucial in keeping smaller businesses afloat and preventing a steeper rise in unemployment, employers said.

Latest figures showed the program is covering 6.3 million jobs, and UK treasury officials are now studying how to phase it out without triggering redundancies. "We want ways to wean people off and get this right," one government figure told The Times.

The shocking impact of the pandemic on the British economy has been laid bare by new figures and analysis published on Wednesday.

The lockdown enforced on March 23 has put vast numbers of companies on the brink, according to a report published by the CEBR think tank and polling company Opinium.

It said one in 10 companies - some 591,000 businesses - are at high risk of going bust, and more than 250,000 companies will not survive if the lockdown lasts for another month.

It also warned a second wave of infections and a subsequent lockdown "could prove fatal for the business community". Based on a poll of more than 500 companies, it predicted 1.1 million companies could not survive another three months of lockdown.

Pablo Shah, senior economist at CEBR, told the Daily Mail that the findings "provide the first glimpse of the deep and long-term scars that the coronavirus crisis is set to infli ct upon the UK economy".

According to a survey from IHS Markit/CIPS, the UK's services sector contracted at a record pace last month. The IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers' index, or PMI - where anything below 50 represents decline - dropped to 13.4 in April.

This is the worst score since the survey started in 1996, and well below the 40.1 recorded in the financial crisis of November 2008.

Another report by the Resolution Foundation think tank warned that youth unemployment could rise by 600,000 this year and "scar" the long-term prospects of a generation.

It predicted the figure could top 1 million, more than doubling the current level of 408,000.

With around 800,000 people aged between 18 and 24 set to leave education this year, the report warned the "corona class of 2020"could face years of reduced pay and limited prospects.

It also warned that younger people who have just joined the workforce are more likely to be made redundant as many companies adopt a "last in, first out" policy.

In other developments, Neil Ferguson, the professor whose advice to the UK prime minister led to the nation's lockdown, has quit as a government adviser on the virus after admitting an "error of judgement".

Ferguson said he regretted "undermining" the messages on social distancing after The Telegraph reported that a woman he was said to be in a relationship with visited his home during the lockdown.

His modelling of the virus's transmission suggested 250,000 people could die without drastic action. In a statement, Ferguson said: "I accept I made an error of judgement and took the wrong course of action.

"I have therefore stepped back from my involvement in Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies). I acted in the belief that I was immune, having tested positive for coronavirus and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms.

"I deeply regret any undermining of the clear messages around the continued need for social distancing."

He also called the government advice on social distancing "unequivocal", adding that it was there "to protect all of us".

Security Minister James Brokenshire told the BBC that "a range of experts" will continue to support ministers following Ferguson's resignation.

Elsewhere, Germany's top soccer league - the Bundesliga - can return this month behind closed doors after Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed it had been given government approval.

The league will decide the exact return date tomorrow, with the weekend of May 16-17 a possibility.