World Health Organisation reveals the two things which won’t be relaxed after lockdown

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) director general also said that countries must maintain the commitment to finding tests and treatments for the virus.

HEALTH: Government announces details of coronavirus tracking app that everybody in the country could soon be asked to download

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke out yesterday as some countries, including Italy, were beginning to ease some of their lockdown restrictions.

The UK Government has to review its current lockdown measures by Thursday and, while the current restrictions are not expected to be lifted, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to set out a ‘roadmap’ on Sunday setting out the next steps.

LATEST: 15 photos of Sheffield life in lockdown to make you smile

Dr Ghebreyesus said: “Several countries are now starting to ease so-called lockdown and stay-at-home orders.

“But our common commitment to basic measures, such as cleaning hands and physical distancing, can not be relaxed, nor can the commitment to the tools that are the foundation of the response - to fund a valid test and cure for every case and trace every contact.”

Dr Ghebreyesus said that at a two-day event for leaders from around 40 countries, 7.4 billion euros had been pledged to tackle Covid-19.

He said it was a powerful sign of global solidarity against the virus and added: “The antidotes to this virus are national unity and global solidarity.”

Mr Johnson has described the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as the ‘most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes’ and called on nations to ‘pull together’ in response to the pandemic.

Coronavirus has claimed nearly 249,000 lives around the world, according to analysis by Johns Hopkins University.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has urged people to download a new contact-tracing app which he said will be a key way of keeping the virus under control.

The trial of the app will take place on the Isle of Wight and it could be rolled out across the UK within weeks if it proves successful.

A total of 218 hospital patients in Sheffield have died after contracting coronavirus.

Across South Yorkshire 526 lives have been, according to NHS England figures.