LONDON, May 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled a “conditional plan” to reopen society, allowing people in England to spend more time outdoors from Wednesday.
The PM also said people who could not work from home should return to the workplace – but avoid public transport.
He said a new Covid Alert System with five levels would govern how quickly lockdown restrictions could be eased.
He hoped the next step “at the earliest by June 1” would be for some primary pupils to return to school in England.
In an address to the nation, Johnson said this stage would also involve reopening shops – but he cautioned this would only happen if supported by science.
The next step could see some hospitality businesses and other public places reopen – “if the numbers support it” – but not earlier than July 1.
He said these steps formed part of a “first sketch of a roadmap for reopening society”.
The PM added: “This is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week. Instead we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures.”
Johnson also confirmed that fines for the “small minority who break” lockdown rules will increase.
Clarifying the conditions in which schools and shops would reopen, Johnson said: “Throughout this period of the next two months we will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity.
“We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health.
“And I must stress again all of this is conditional, it all depends on a series of big ifs.”
The PM explained how the “R” number – the reproduction rate of the virus – would be crucial in deciding whether lockdown could be eased further.
Experts have said that keeping R below 1 – meaning one person with the virus passes it on to one other person – is the priority.
“It depends on all of us – the entire country – to follow the advice, to observe social distancing, and to keep that R down,” Johnson said.
The PM mentioned construction and manufacturing as examples of the sorts of industries where restarting would now be explicitly encouraged.
Workplaces would receive guidance on how to become “Covid secure”, he added.
He said in addition to being able to leave home as many times as they wish for exercise or to sunbathe in parks, people in England would also be able to drive to other destinations.
Previous guidance published by the government said people could leave home once a day to exercise in England.
The PM also said he was “serving notice” that it would soon be the time to impose a quarantine on people coming into the country by air.
In a joint statement later, Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed quarantine measures would not apply between France and the UK “at this stage”.
Johnson said in his speech he had consulted “across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK” and that his plan was a “a general consensus on what we could do”.
But Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said after the speech she felt the PM should have stressed “more strongly” that most of the changes he referred to in his speech applied to England only.
The PM earlier unveiled the new message of “stay alert, control the virus, save lives” in England – but Sturgeon said it would not apply in Scotland at the moment.
The Northern Ireland Executive said it would “consider its plan for a phased, strategic approach to recovery” at a meeting on Monday.
Wales’ health minister Vaughan Gething also said there had not been a “four-nations agreement” on the new “stay alert” message and that the advice to “stay at home” in Wales was unchanged.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have powers over their own lockdown restrictions, with England’s measures set by the government at Westminster. While leaders have expressed a wish to move forward as one, they may do so at different speeds.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Johnson’s speech lacked “clarity and consensus” and raised “as many questions as it answers”.
He said that millions of people who cannot work from home were effectively being told to go to work with just 12 hours’ notice – and not to use public transport.
“That’s why I say the statement raises as many questions as it answers,” he said.
A further 269 people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths recorded to 31,855.
The number of deaths recorded tends to be lower over the weekend because of reporting delays. — NNN-AGENCIES