THE PRIME minister has returned to Downing Street.

Boris Johnson will be taking charge of the Government's response to the coronavirus outbreak.

He is resuming full-time duties at the head of the Government three weeks after being hospitalised with the disease.

Mr Johnson will chair the regular morning meeting of the Government's Covid-19 "war cabinet" before heading into a series of meetings with senior ministers and officials.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who has been deputising for him in his absence - said he was "raring to go" after a fortnight recovering at Chequers, his official country residence.

He arrived back on Sunday evening to a growing clamour from senior Tories to begin lifting the lockdown amid mounting concern at the damage it is causing to the economy.

Scientists advising the Government have warned any relaxation risks a renewed flare-up just as the numbers of patients in hospital with the disease is beginning to fall.

Over the weekend, ministers highlighted a warning by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey of the economic devastation a second wave of the disease would cause.

Mr Raab said the outbreak was at a "delicate and dangerous" phase and people would have to get used to a "new normal" - with social distancing measures set to remain in place for "some time" to come.

Mr Johnson - who spent a week in St Thomas' Hospital in London, including three nights intensive care - is said to to determined to ensure that there is no second peak.

Meanwhile, the pressure to ease the restrictions came from a series of wealthy Tory backers who called over the weekend for the Government to allow the economy to re-start.

They echoed former chancellor Philip Hammond who said the country could not afford to wait for a vaccine to be developed, saying the "economy will not survive that long".