Canadians left wondering when restrictions will be lifted as other countries move forward

The UK and the state of New York have announced that while they have seen some success in flattening the curve, the social distancing measures that have been brought in will have to stay at least until May. In Canada, the restrictions are looking like they will last until sometime in the summer, at least.

Patients in the UK with COVID-19 jumped up from 861 to 13, 729 on Thursday, according to Sky News. That jump comes after four consecutive days of the number remaining below 800.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who is acting on behalf of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, made the announcement that lock down measures would be extended, and said the decision to do so was based on recommendation from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).

"The government has decided that the current measures must remain in place for at least the next three weeks." said Raab. He added that the SAGE warned that, "relaxing any of the measures in place" would "undo the progress we have made" and would "risk damage to both public health and the economy".

"We've come too far, lost too many loved ones and sacrificed too much to let up now—especially when we are now beginning to see that our efforts are paying off," said Raab. "There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we are at a delicate and dangerous stage of this pandemic."

This UK lock down measures will remain in place at least until May 7.

The state of New York on the other hand will extend their lock down measures to at least May 15, as announced by Governor Cuomo on Thursday, according to Fox News.

The decision follows Thursday's report of 606 news deaths that day, down from 752 deaths the day previous. There has also been a dip in ICU admissions and total hospitalizations, a stat that is "down significantly for the first time," said Cuomo.

“We have to continue what we are doing,” said Cuomo. “I don’t want to project beyond that period... people need certainty and clarity so they can plan, I need a coordinated action plan with the other states. So one month we will continue the close down policies.

“What happens after then? I don’t know,” the Governor added. “We will see depending on what the data shows.”

The State of Connecticut also announced they will implement their lock down to at least May 20.

Meanwhile here at home Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet to give any sort of clear indication as to how long the social distancing and non-essential travels bans will last. In a press conference on Wednesday Trudeau said the measures may last "weeks or even months."

“We know [these measures] are going to be in place a number of more weeks, perhaps even months. But everything depends on how Canadians behave,” said Trudeau.

“The choices you make to stay at home, to self-isolate, not to go to six different grocery stores… these sorts of things are what will arrest the spread and the increase of this virus.” said the Prime Minister, who has recently faced criticism after breaking the non-essential travels rules to see his family at their Chalet in Lake Harrington.

“As I have often said, we look at all kinds of different scenarios,” said Trudeau. “It might last longer, it might last less time.”

While Trudeau seemed unable to give a definitive answer as to when restrictions would be lifted, inside sources in Ottawa told Global News that, “Current GoC [Government Operations Centre] modelling suggests as a best-case scenario that current measures continue until at least July.”