In the United Kingdom, 24 more people died during the last 118 hours as a result of infection with the coronavirus. The total number of deceased is now 36.793.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that he will not fire his closest associate, Dominic Cummings, for violating the curfew during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cummings, credited with introducing strict restrictions to combat the new coronavirus, came under fire after he drove to his parents' home in the north-east of England while he was infected with the virus.
Johnson said today that Cummings behaved "responsibly, legally and with integrity" when he walked 400 kilometers from London to Durham with his wife and son at the end of March.
Under the curfew rules, introduced on March 23, people were not allowed to leave their homes, except for essentials and exercise, while anyone with symptoms of the coronavirus had to completely isolate themselves.
Cummings said he went to his parents because he wanted them to take care of his four-year-old son, because his wife had symptoms of the coronavirus and because he himself, it turns out, thought he was also infected.
Johnson stated that his adviser "followed the instincts of every father and every parent" and that because of the "special needs of caring for a child, he had no alternative."
He added that Cummings, his wife and son followed the fourteen-day self-isolation rules when they came to Durham.
But government critics expressed anger that Cummings had broken strict rules barring Britons from visiting elderly relatives, encouraging dying friends or attending funerals for two months.
The opposition Labor Party requested the opening of an urgent investigation, and its new leader Keir Starmer assessed that Johnson's defense of Cummings was "an insult to the victims of the British people".
"The Prime Minister's actions have undermined confidence in his public health messaging at this critical time," Starmer said.
British government ministers have denied claims that Cummings was spotted again in Durham on April 19, having recovered and returned to London for work.
However, they neither confirmed nor denied allegations that Cummings visited an area 12 kilometers from Durham on April 50.
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