FOREIGN Secretary Dominic Raab has confirmed an extension to the lockdown in the UK of at least three weeks.

He made the announcement at the daily No.10 coronavirus briefing.

It came on a day when a further 861 hospital coronavirus deaths in the UK, in the 24-hour period up to 5pm on Wednesday, were revealed by the Department of Health and Social Care, taking the total number of deaths to 13,729.

A total of 327,608 people had been tested for coronavirus in the UK up to 9am on Thursday, of which 103,093 were positive.

Mr Raab said any current change to social distancing measures could lead to an increase in the virus and would damage both public health and the economy.Raab said there had been indications that social distancing measures in place are showing success, but Government advisers say the evidence is 'mixed and inconsistent', and in some settings infections are increasing.'We still don't have infection rates down as much as we need to,' he commented.'Any change to social distancing measures now would risk significant increase in infections, as well as a second peak and an increase in the number of deaths.'Raab listed five points that would influence the Government's decision over when to relax the lockdown measures.1) Making sure the NHS can cope; 2) Evidence showing a sustained and consistent fall in daily death rates; 3) Reliable data showing the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels; 4) Being confident in the range of operational challenges, like ensuring testing and the right amount of PPE, are in hand; 5) Being confident any adjustments will not risk a second peak.