Stay alert: PM’s new message to the nation
Five-tier warning system similar to terror status designed to boost public awareness
BORIS JOHNSON will ask the country to “stay alert, control the virus and save lives”, as he unveils a new Covid-19 warning system as part of his road map to gradually unlocking the economy.
In an address to the nation this evening, the Prime Minister is to call on workers and businesses to stay alert by following strict social distancing rules, as the Government encourages those who cannot work from home to begin returning to offices and factories.
A new five-tier warning system, akin to the scheme used to publicise terror threat levels, will be used to flag up the virus risk and encourage public adherence to the rules. Alerts will range from level one (green) to level five (red).
Mr Johnson is expected to say that England is on the verge of moving from four, the second highest level, to three, which would indicate that the infection rate is not increasing significantly.
The system will be administered by a Joint Biosecurity Centre, which will be responsible for detecting local spikes of Covid-19 so ministers can increase restrictions where necessary to help reduce the infection rates.
Mr Johnson will drop the Government’s previous slogan – “Stay at home, Protect the NHS, Save lives” – as he attempts to cautiously reopen sections of the economy, in the week after the Bank of England warned the country was on course for its sharpest recession on record.
The new slogan – “Stay alert, Control the virus, Save lives” – has been drawn up by Isaac Levido, the Australian strategist, and Ben Guerin, a 25-yearold New Zealander who advised the Conservatives on their social media strategy during last year’s election.
But Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, warned last night that the 2-metre social distancing rule meant that even when the UK transport networks returned to operating at full capacity, only one in 10 passengers would be able to travel, to minimise the risk of transmitting the virus.
The Government’s full road map is due to be published in a 50-page document tomorrow, when the plan will be outlined to MPs.
On Tuesday evening Mr Johnson is expected to address the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs amid growing alarm within the ranks about the economic impact of the lockdown.
He is expected to point to the road map to show the Government is planning a way out of the current restrictions. But a Downing Street source said he would proceed with “maximum caution and maximum conditionality”.
He is also expected to announce plans to lift specific restrictions on outdoor activity, such as the limit on one form of exercise for an hour per day. The Government will also allow garden centres to reopen for this week, but will increase fines for those caught flouting the existing rules.
Meanwhile, from next month, passengers arriving at British airports and ports will be placed in quarantine for up to a fortnight, under plans revealed by The Sunday Telegraph last month.
The fresh slogan was drawn up by Downing Street after fears that the instruction to “stay at home” had proved too effective during the first phase of
the Government’s response to the pandemic, with many who were allowed to go to work choosing to remain at home.
This week ministers will encourage those who cannot work from home to return to premises such as offices and factories, provided they can do so safely.
Workers and businesses will be told they can “stay alert” by following social distancing rules, including keeping two metres away from anyone from a different household. The Government is also likely to issue advice about face masks to help reduce the spread of infection in public settings.
Mr Johnson has said the “R” value, or rate of transmission, must remain below one, meaning that each infected person passes the virus on to less than one other. The rate is pushed up by the number of social interactions. The new slogan drops the “protect the NHS” mantra but a No10 source said: “We will take the decisions that continue to save lives and protect the NHS, proceeding with maximum caution and maximum conditionality.
“This is a critical moment, so having assessed the evidence carefully and scrutinised the data, the PM will address the public and ask for their resolve as we continue to do whatever is needed to defeat this appalling virus.”
Mr Johnson is expected to suggest following social distancing rules will help to save livelihoods as well as lives.
The PM will ask for the public’s resolve as we do whatever is needed to defeat this appalling virus’
Tonight’s broadcast will be his second national address of the pandemic, and the first since being hospitalised.
Ahead of the 7pm broadcast, he will lead a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, attended by leaders of the devolved administrations, and Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
A No 10 source said the new biosecurity alert system would allow the Government to “determine how tough we need to be in our social distancing measures.”
Meanwhile, Susan Michie, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ behavioural sub-committee, said the Government needed to launch a new advertising campaign to remind people of the need of the need to continue with hygiene measures, such as washing their hands for 20 seconds, as they return to work.