On one hand, where the British government lowered the COVID-19 alert in the country, on the other hand, it is facing severe backlash for downplaying the severity of the coronavirus outbreak. Till now, at least 303,285 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus in the country and more than 42,500 have lost their lives as per John Hopkins University tally. Sir David King, the former government chief scientific adviser and chairman of the independent SAGE group has even reportedly said the UK PM Boris Johnson’s Conservative government handled the global health crisis in the ‘most disastrous’ way as compared to any other serious challenge that a government faced in a 100 years.

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According to stats shared by Guardian, it has also claimed the British government showcased false figures to the public when the actual number was ‘too high’. The same report said that more than 1,000 people died after contracting the novel coronavirus between April 2 and April 23. Recalling all the announcements made by UK government in the past while dealing with the coronavirus contagion, the international media report said that on April 8, the ministers claimed the death toll increased by 881 but apparently the true figure was 64 per cent higher. 

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British government’s spokesperson has, however, pledged that Johnson’s administration was ‘transparent. According to the international media report, the government official acknowledged that losing even a single life is a ‘tragedy’ but it is ‘wrong’ to accuse the government of downplaying the severity by fiddling with the actual data of the COVID-19 pandemic. The official also added that the daily figures put forth by the government and the ONS data count are two different things and they have ‘fully explained’ the situation.

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COVID-19 alert level lowered in UK

As the coronavirus cases continue to plunge in the UK, the chief medical officers in Britain have decreased the COVID-19 alert from level 4 to 3 on June 19. Amid the coronavirus contagion, the alert level from “transmission is high or rising exponentially” to “epidemic is in general circulation”. According to reports, the Joint Biosecurity Centre had recommended the lowering of the emergency level to level 3 because the chief medical officers in the UK have noted the ‘steady decrease’ in coronavirus infections in all four nations. 

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