Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has said that the easing of the coronavirus lockdown "should not come at the expense of human lives."

Rabbi Mirvis made the remarks in an interview with ITV newsreader Julie Etchingham on Wednesday.

He also asked that “priority must continuously be given to the interests of our health and our lives”.

Rabbi Mirvis, who has served as Chief Rabbi since 2013, stated he feared that “because of the necessities of triage and certain policies” that a “mindset” which did not take into account the “preservation of life” had been created.

“We need to guarantee that this will not be carried on beyond the virus-era,” he said.

“Since 1945, we’ve been living in a post-war era,” he continued, “from 2020, we will be living in a post-virus era, and it is in our hands now to set a tone for that post-virus era.”

The Chief Rabbi also said that the “silver lining” of the coronavirus pandemic is one in which “our society will turn out to be a far better one".

Rabbi Mirvis expressed pride at the reaction of the Jewish community ot the pandemic, saying that Jews had been "thrust into this totally unexpectedly and we have come up trumps." 

“I am so proud of our Rabbis and our lay leaders,” he continued, “who – without prior notice – have risen to the challenge.”

“What we have shown,” he said, “is that community goes very much beyond a building, community is about people."