Hello and welcome to the Safey Ridge on Sunday podcast, just a week after taking charge of the opposition amid a national and international crisis.

I spoke to the new Labour leader, Sakeir Stama, plus Alok Sharma, the business secretary, was on the show to defend the government's response to coronavirus.

Well, as usual, on the podcast, we are joined by Matt Lavender.

How are you, Matt?

I'm not too bad. How are you, Sophie?

Yeah, I'm okay. I'm all right, yeah.

Good.

We are in, what is it, week three now of lockdown?

I can't even remember.

Yeah, I think it's about week three.

Yeah, it's, I mean, we don't know.

It's definitely going to be extended.

I think we can pretty safely assume that based on what the government have said. I don't think there's any clear guidance yet on when things are

going to start to ease. I think this week has been a kind of, it's been a bit, it's been a bit

bleak, hasn't it? Because we've seen the number of deaths rising pretty fast. And I think in some ways the thing that's bleak at the moment as well is it doesn't seem

like we've reached a peak on that.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will be coming down the other side and therefore things

will be slightly more positive.

But it does feel like we're in a pretty bleak stage at the moment, doesn't it?

980 reported deaths announced on Friday, 917 yesterday. That's Saturday we were recording it on Easter Sunday.

I mean, it's pretty grim numbers, higher daily tolls than any other European countries posted.

And there was a time when people were talking about the peak coming on Easter Sunday, wasn't there, which is today when we're recording it.

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