The British government congratulated itself on Friday for reaching its goal of screening for the new coronavirus, the pillar of its strategy to fight the pandemic which has killed more than 27,000 people in the United Kingdom, the second most affected country in Europe .
The United Kingdom recorded Friday 739 additional deaths from Covid-19 disease, marking an increase compared to the previous day and bringing to 27,510 dead the total toll, which now counts the deaths occurred in hospital and in homes of Retirement, announced Minister of Health Matt Hancock.
Criticized for having delayed taking the measure of the crisis and the inadequacy of screening, the British government was under pressure to reach its objective of 100,000 tests per day, which it had set in early April for the end of the month.
The authorities then only performed around ten thousand tests per day and remained well below their target in recent days.
“The number of tests yesterday, the last day of April, was 122,347,” said Matt Hancock at a press conference.
“I knew it was a bold goal, but we needed an ambitious goal because screening is so important to get the UK back on its feet,” he added.
The government had initially chosen to reserve the tests for the most critical cases as well as for caregivers on the front line, despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization to test as widely as possible.
They have since been extended to key workers such as police and teachers, residents and employees of retirement homes, as well as those over the age of 65 and workers who have to leave their homes with symptoms.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, himself cured of Covid-19 disease, said Thursday that the UK had “passed the peak” of the epidemic and was “on a downward slope”.
Urged to provide an exit strategy, as several countries begin to ease their restrictions, he promised a deconfinement plan next week.
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