» PM’s broadcast:
BORIS Johnson has said schools and non-essential shops will remain shut in England until at least June because the coronavirus transmission rate is still too high to significantly ease the lockdown.
But, in relation to England, the Prime Minister said people who cannot work from home should be “actively encouraged” to return to their jobs from today, and granted unlimited exercise from Wednesday.
Mr Johnson during his address yesterday evening outlined “the first sketch of a road map”, with a new alert system to determine when aspects of the economy and social lives can be restarted as he tries to limit the damage.
After official figures suggested the UK death toll had passed 36,800, Mr Johnson 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”.
“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.”
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 in England 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 reopen some of the hospitality industry, if the evidence supports the move and distancing can be enforced.
But in an easing of measures, he said the once-daily limit on outdoor exercise in England would end on Wednesday.
“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,” he said.
It prompted Wales’ Counsel General Jeremy Miles to warn that people in England are not allowed to travel to Wales for exercise, and risk being fined by police if they do.
“The position in Wales is very different from the position in England in relation to that,” he told the BBC.
“Our regulations do not permit people to get in their cars and drive to destinations in Wales and this includes people getting in their cars in England. We are not permitting that in Wales.”
Mr Johnson also said that, from today in England, “anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction and manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work”.
But workers should avoid public transport “if at all possible” because “we must and will maintain social distancing”, he added.
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 from level four of the five-tier system down into level three, with level one meaning the disease is no longer present.
The Prime Minister said: “We are establishing a new Covid alert system run by a new Joint Biosecurity Centre.
“And that Covid alert level will be determined primarily by R and the number of coronavirus cases.
“And in turn that Covid alert level will tell us how tough we have to be in our social-distancing measures - the lower the level, the fewer the measures.
“The higher the level, the tougher and stricter we will have to be.
“There will be five alert levels.
“Level one means the disease is no longer present in the UK and level five is the most critical – the kind of situation we could have had if the NHS had been overwhelmed.
“Over the period of the lockdown, we have been in level four, and it is thanks to your sacrifice we are now in a position to begin to move in steps to level three.”
Fines for anyone who breaks social-distancing rules will also be increased, and employers would be sent guidance to make workplaces “Covid-secure”.
One omission from his speech was guidance over the use of face coverings to slow the spread of the disease and the reopening of garden centres in England, but the PM said he would set out more details in Parliament today. A document with the details is also due to be released.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak was considering his next steps for the furlough scheme, which has seen the Treasury spend more than £8bn paying salaries to prevent layoffs.
Mr Johnson relaxed his slogan to “stay alert, control the virus and save lives” amid UK Government 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. He acknowledged “this is the dangerous bit” but hopes to restart the economy by encouraging people back to work while maintaining social-distancing rules.
But the Government’s efforts to maintain a unified UK-wide response to the pandemic appeared in jeopardy as the devolved administrations rejected his message.
And behavioural expert Professor Susan Michie, who is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the new slogan is “a long way from” being clear and consistent.
“Dropping the ‘stay at home’ message from the main slogan in favour of generalised alertness may be taken as a green light by many to not stay at home and begin socialising with friends and other activities that increase the risk of transmission,” the UCL scientist said.
“This could potentially undermine the good work over the last few weeks that has seen impressively sustained high levels of adherence by the public in what for many are very challenging situations.”
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the new warning system will allow for restrictions to be strengthened or relaxed in different areas depending on localised outbreaks.
And he said it is the Government’s “strong preference” that all four nations agree to the same approach.
But he struggled to concisely explain exactly what the new advice means, when questioned on the BBC.
“Stay alert will mean stay alert by staying home as much as possible,” he told The Andrew Marr Show.
“But stay alert when you do go out by maintaining social distancing, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other settings that you will go to.”
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth called for the PM to give “crystal-clear clarity” on how the public must behave amid concerns that the lockdown is in jeopardy.
“We need absolute clarity from Boris Johnson. There’s no room for nuance in this,” the Labour MP told Sky.
“This virus exploits ambivalence, it thrives on ambiguity, and I think the problem with the slogan that has been briefed to the newspapers is people will be looking slightly puzzled, questioning ‘What does it mean to stay alert?”.’
Later this week, the Prime Minister will address the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives amid concerns that some of his MPs will be unenthused by the gradual easing.