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British PM Delays Lifting Coronavirus Restrictions

Jamie Dettmer

   Prime Minister Boris Johnson will keep Britain under a coronavirus
   lockdown until at least next month -- to the frustration of some in his
   Cabinet, who behind the scenes are arguing that Downing Street now
   needs to prioritize the economy, which is heading for its worst
   recession in 300 years.

   Cabinet ministers and some senior Conservatives have urged Johnson at
   least to release a timetable on easing the lockdown, with specific
   dates for different stages for lifting restrictions. Former Finance
   Minister Sajid Javid, a onetime rival for the leadership of the ruling
   Conservatives, said Friday that Downing Street must turn its attention
   to the economy now that the peak of coronavirus cases is thought to
   have been reached.

   "We've got to find a way forward," he told broadcaster Sky News. Javid
   said it was right to have "put public health first," but now Johnson
   needed to pivot to focus on economic recovery. "We're going to have to
   coexist with this virus for, I think, many months, if not potentially
   years. But we've got to find a way forward and that does mean you are
   relaxing, as much as you can," he said.

   Javid is the most prominent Conservative so far to call publicly for
   the economy to be restarted swiftly, but two of Johnson's most senior
   Cabinet members, Michael Gove and Javid's replacement as finance
   minister, Rishi Sunak, also have been making the case in Cabinet
   meetings for an unlocking of Britain, say Conservative sources.

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