The UK looks set to extend its lockdown measures into early or perhaps even late May, just as other European coronavirus hotspots start to lift some restrictions on businesses.

The number of deaths in UK hospitals stood at 12,868 on Wednesday, up by 761 from the previous day. In total, the UK has over 98,000 confirmed cases of the virus. The number of deaths could be much higher as there are concerns over the extent of outbreaks in care homes.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who is acting on behalf of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whilst he recovers from Covid-19 at his country residence, has addressed questions being raised over just how long the UK’s lockdown, now in its fourth week, will last.

On Monday, he said that it was too early to lift restrictions, commenting at the government’s daily press conference that “we’re still not passed the peak of this virus so please continue to follow the advice now more than ever to stay home, save lives and protect our NHS.”

He added that while the UK’s approach to the coronavirus was working, measures had to remain in place: “Keep this up, we have come too far, lost too many loved ones and sacrificed too much to ease up.”

A group of scientific advisors were to meet this week to review the effectiveness of social distancing and lockdown measures. Raab said changes to restrictions would not be made unless the government was confident “that any such changes can be safely made.”

Although no date has been given for the lifting of lockdown measures, it is expected that Britain will remain in lockdown for another three weeks and that the Foreign Secretary will announce today (16 April) that the lockdown will stay in place until at least May 7.

In the meantime, some European countries, among them Italy and Spain which have been some of the worst affected by the coronavirus, are now looking to lift some restrictions on public life as the number of new infections and daily deaths decline.

Spain allowed some construction and manufacturing sites to reopen Monday and Italy also allowed some businesses, including bookshops and children’s clothing stores, to reopen on Tuesday. In Austria, garden centres and home improvement stores, as well as some other small businesses, re-opened Tuesday. Denmark opened primary schools and nurseries on Wednesday with Norway reported to be considering a similar move.

Germany is considering how to implement a gradual recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The country has been praised for its response to the coronavirus (notably, widespread testing and contact tracing) that has kept the death toll low; Germany has over 130,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus but has only recorded 3,194 deaths.

France is also being cautious; President Emmanuel Macron told the public in a televised address on Monday that measures will not be lifted until May 11. He said progress was being made but the epidemic was not yet under control in some parts of France.