UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to return to work as early as Monday to take back control of the coronavirus crisis, the Telegraph reported.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is in charge as stand-in leader while Johnson recuperates from COVID-19 complications.

Earlier this month, Johnson was discharged from a London hospital and was continuing his recovery at his country residence of Chequers.

Johnson is facing criticism from opposition politicians and some epidemiologists for reacting too slowly to the virus outbreak.

Britain is at or near the peak of a health crisis with the number of deaths related to coronavirus hitting 18,738 – the fifth highest national death toll from the pandemic worldwide.

Ministers have been struggling to explain high death rates, limited testing and shortages of protective kits. Johnson has told aides to schedule meetings with cabinet ministers next week to get up to speed, the Telegraph reported on Thursday.

Ministers are working to roll out a mass testing and tracking program to try to reduce the rate of transmission and possibly ease stringent measures that have all but shut the economy.

The UK extended its nationwide lockdown last Thursday, as stand-in leader Raab ordered Britons to stay at home for at least another three weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has already claimed over 190,000 lives globally.

Raab chaired an emergency meeting last Thursday to review scientific evidence on the impact of the existing lockdown.

"We have just come too far, we've lost too many loved ones, we've already sacrificed far too much to ease up now, especially when we are beginning to see the evidence that our efforts are starting to pay off," he told reporters.

(With input from Reuters)