British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said starting June 1, non-essential retail can begin to reopen.
The first group of stores that will be permitted will be outdoor markets and car show rooms. After June 15, all other non-essential retail, provided strict hygiene and social distancing measures are in place, will be permitted.
“These are careful but deliberate steps on the road to rebuilding our country — and we can only take these thanks to what we have so far achieved together,” Johnson said at a news conference.
– 12:50 p.m.: WHO suspends hydroxychloroquine study
The World Health Organization said it would pause its study on the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as part of its ongoing research into COVID-19 treatments.
The move comes after a study was published in medical journal The Lancet that found coronavirus patients who took the drug were more likely to die or develop irregular heart rhythms. WHO said its executive group of the Solidarity Trial is reviewing data on its research into the drug while the pause goes into effect.
“The other arms of the trial are continuing,” Dr. Samba Sow, director general of the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali, said at a news conference. “This concern relates to the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloraquine in COVID-19.”
