Boris Johnson urged the public to contain their impatience against the lockdown.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are isolating at their Anmer Hall residence in Norfolk, eastern England, during the coronavirus lockdown have planned all the usual trimmings of birthday cake and some games as well as a surprise video call from her great grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The UK's death toll now makes it just one of a number of countries to have crossed the 20,000 fatalities mark, after France, Spain, Italy and the United States.
The 71-year-old heir to the British throne, who himself recovered from the coronavirus at the end of last month, praised Britain's Asian community for the 'vital role' it has been playing during the pandemic as he called for the diaspora to donate generously to help the most vulnerable in their countries of origin.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that though the daily rise in the toll was lower than previous days, it was important not to forget any one of the victims of the deadly virus and continue to strictly follow the social distancing norms in place to control its spread.
The United Kingdom government has pledged 20 million to support the "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19" coronavirus vaccine trial programme, with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying the government would "throw everything at" finding a vaccine against the deadly virus.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said during the daily Downing Street briefing that the UK's strict social distancing rules were making a difference and saving lives.
Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who lost his UK high court appeal against an extradition order to India, has said that he is "disappointed" with the ruling but will continue to seek legal remedies as advised by his legal team. The 64-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss reiterated that he has repeatedly offered to pay the Indian banks the loan amount owed by his now-defunct airline, an offer which the banks have rejected.
An extradition expert in the UK said the strict social distancing norms in place to try and curb the spread of COVID-19 may add a further dimension to the UK's Article 3 obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, relating to inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
William, the Duke of Cambridge who is second in line to the throne, also spoke of his worry for his grandparents -- Queen Elizabeth II, 93, and her husband Prince Philip, 98 -- who are both isolated away at Windsor Castle during the pandemic.
Captain Tom Moore had resolved to complete 100, 25m laps before he turned 100 at the end of April. The 99-year-old, who has captured the imagination of the public with his heroics, finished the last few steps of his 2,530-yard walk at his home in the village of Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire with a beaming smile.
The UK's lockdown, which involves strict stay at home measures with movement allowed for limited urgent purposes only if "absolutely necessary" and for one form of daily exercise, came into force on March 23 after a televised address by Boris Johnson.
The UK is likely to be for another three weeks, is inevitable.
Downing Street has said that the prime minister would not be returning to work immediately and will be based at the sprawling 1,000-acre estate in Buckinghamshire, south-east England, for a recovery period on medical advice.
On the advice of his medical team, he will not be returning to work immediately, with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to continue deputising as he recuperates.
Downing Street has not confirmed if Johnson had been allowed any visitors or seen Carrie Symonds, his heavily pregnant fiance, but said he had received many thousands of get well cards.
"The Prime Minister has been moved this evening [Thursday] from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery. He is in extremely good spirits," a Downing Street spokesperson said on Thursday.
In a relief to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the high court in London has deferred hearings on a plea by the SBI-led consortium of Indian banks, seeking the indebted tycoon to be declared bankrupt to enable them recover a loan of around 1.145 billion pounds from him. Justice Michael Briggs of the insolvency division of the high court granted relief to Mallya, ruling that he should be given time till his petitions to the Supreme Court of India and his settlement proposal before the Karnataka high court be determined, allowing him time to repay his debts to the banks in full.
A British Sikh cardiologist is back on the coronavirus frontline at a west London hospital after being struck down by the deadly virus himself last month. "If you can't talk in full sentences that's when your lungs are being affected, that's the time you need to seek medical help," Singh told My London.
Sunak, who has been leading the UK government's economic response during the COVID-19 lockdown as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will automatically step in as part of an established order of precedence in the UK -- which does not have a written Constitution.
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