HOPES of an early significant relaxation of coronavirus lockdown measures were given a fresh blow as it emerged that the government is still developing a contact tracing infrastructure.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove also said there is no timetable for community testing considered crucial to escape the current lockdown restrictions.
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said stringent rules can only be relaxed if appropriate measures are in place.
READ MORE: 8,000 a week still arriving in Scotland – and not one is tested for Covid-19
Such measures include "significant" capacity for contact tracing, used to track infections and attempt to stop their spread, he said.
The UK's lockdown was extended on Thursday for another three weeks as the latest figures show 15,464 people have died in the UK using figures which mainly rely on fatalities in hospitals.
Mr Gove said: "We are developing an approach to contact tracing and testing, which means we will be able to test people in the population and track themes through the use of technology.
"We are working with other countries in order to makes sure that we will have the technology that enables us to detect if an individual has been in contact with others and ensure that appropriate testing is in place.
"But I think it is appropriate and important to take one step back. There are a number of things we need to do do in order to be confident we can relax measures overall. Testing and contact tracing are very important.
"But we also need to make sure our NHS cqapacity is as resilent as it can possibly be. And we also need to make sure that we have already reduced the rate of infection in the population and that the number of deaths if falling.
Only when we have all of those factors in place, can we be confident of relaxing some of the measures that we have currently in place."
Asked on The Andrew Marr Show if the UK will be testing in the community and contact tracing within three weeks, Mr Gove replied: "Over the next three weeks we will be in a position to increase the number of tests. We will have 100,000 tests being conducted by the end of this month.
"We hope to have community testing. But I can't give you a precise timescale. We are working as fast as we can in order to ensure an increase in the number of tests and also develop contact tracing infrastructure."
He also said that he was "confident" that they will reach the target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month - despite only being at 20,000 a day so far.
In updated guidance, WHO set six-step criteria for countries to consider as they weigh whether to lift restrictions already imposed against COVID-19.
READ MORE: Michael Gove - coronavirus testing must go 'further and faster' [March 31]
First, countries should confirm that transmission of the virus has been controlled. Second, they must ensure that health systems are capable of detecting, testing, isolating and treating every case of COVID-19, as well as tracing every contact.
Third, they must make sure that outbreak risks are minimized, especially in such settings as health facilities and nursing homes.
Fourth, countries must put in place preventive measures in workplaces, schools and other essential places. Fifth, they must manage importation risks, and sixth, they should fully educate, engage and empower communities to adjust to the “new norm” of everyday life.
It comes after a Sunday Times report said government had plans for schools to reopen as early as May 11 as part of an exit plan. The Scottish Government decides on such measures north of the border.
Mr Gove dismissed that as "not true", saying no decision had been made.
Mr Gove said nearly three weeks ago coronavirus testing must go “further and faster" as a health expert cautiously pointed to evidence that social distancing measures could be having a positive effect on restraining the outbreak.
At the daily Downing St press conference on March 31, the Cabinet Office Minister spoke as the government was denounced by critics on its efforts on testing, comparing them to the government’s in Germany, where 500,000 tests are being carried out every week at the time.
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