The British economy is under great pressure now due to the rapidly growing number of  COVID-19 cases and deaths from the infection. Hopes that the situation will improve soon and the lockdown restrictions will be eased are waning with every day. According to analysts, the UK GDP is expected to shrink by 30% in the first quarter. Such a sharp drop in economic growth is explained by a huge death toll caused by the coronavirus outbreak. By April 15, the number of deaths had surpassed 10,000. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson went down with the virus infection as well. The UK is now at risk of becoming a new epicenter of the disease with the largest number of confirmed cases. In early April, Boris Johnson was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital where he spent one week including three days in the intensive care unit. Shortly after that, the British authorities faced severe criticism over slow and insufficient coronavirus testing, the shortage of protective equipment for medical workers, and for  a delayed response to the epidemic. Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital. He is still undergoing rehabilitation and has not immediately returned to work, though. Currently, UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab is deputising for Boris Johnson. The contradictions within the current economic policy of the country make things even worse. The British government has faced a dilemma over how to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The authorities have to make a difficult choice of prioritizing between health care and the needs of the UK economy. The decision may become crucial for the country's future development, experts stress. Earlier, Rishi Sunak, the British finance minister, warned that GDP could contract by 20-30% between April and June 2020. Notably, Rishi Sunak advocates for lifting the lockdown restrictions and reopening the economy as soon as possible. However, others resist this move for fear of further escalation of the coronavirus outbreak. HM Treasury allocated the emergency funding of 14 billion pounds ($17 billion) for public services to support the coronavirus-hit economy. The Treasury is expected to allocate additional funding for the National Health Service and for local authorities that provide social care for elderly people. The situation with small and medium-sized businesses is far less optimistic. A total of 300,000 firms have applied for financial aid but only 4,200 companies have received rescue loans under the government’s business support scheme.