Boris Johnson sets out ‘first careful steps’ for easing lockdown with sunbathing allowed and ‘Covid secure’ workplace guidance to be rolled out.
The UK lockdown remains firmly in place, however, Britons are to enjoy new freedoms starting from Monday, Boris Johnson has announced.
The Prime Minister addressed the nation in a televised speech on Sunday evening, laying out his “road map” for easing the restrictions while urging the public to “stay alert”.
People who can’t work from home should now be “actively encouraged” to resume their roles from Monday, Mr Johnson said, in a cautious bid to limit crippling damage to the British economy.
And in a welcome, and expected boost, to the nation’s spirits he declared: “From this Wednesday we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise.
“You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household.”
His speech came as the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland rejected his new “stay alert” slogan, preferring to keep the “stay home” message in place.
While Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she did not want additional businesses to reopen and workers to resume their roles, the PM gave these steps the go-ahead.
Mr Johnson said that, from Monday, “anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction and manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work”.
“And we want it to be safe for you to get to work. So you should avoid public transport if at all possible, because we must and will maintain social distancing, and capacity will therefore be limited,” he added.
“No, this is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week,” he said. “Instead we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures.”
He confirmed he would increase the fines for anyone who breaks social-distancing rules, and would set out guidance for employers to make workplaces “Covid secure”.
He gave five phases of a “Covid alert level” that will be primarily influenced by the rate of transmission, or R, which he said is between 0.5 and 0.9 “but potentially just below one”.
The PM said he believes England may be in a position “to begin the phased reopening of shops” and get primary pupils back to school in steps staggered by year groups “at the earliest by June 1”.
And he said the ambition is to get secondary pupils facing exams next year to have “at least some time with their teachers before the holidays”.
In the third step, “at the earliest by July”, he said that ministers hope to re-open some of the hospitality industry, if the evidence supports the move and distancing can be enforced.
Mr Johnson said he was “serving notice that it will soon be the time” to impose quarantine on people flying into the UK “to prevent reinfection from abroad”.
He confirmed a new “joint biosecurity centre” would run the alert system, in which he said the UK is ready to begin moving down into level three, with level one meaning the disease is no longer present.
Mr Johnson ended his speech with the Government’s new slogan: “Stay alert, control the virus and save lives,” amid concerns that weeks of strong messaging to “stay home” had encouraged too many people to stop working.
The PM is now telling the public to “stay at home as much as possible”, keep two metres apart when going out and “limit contact” with other people.
