Follow the rules or face ban on outdoor exercise
THE Health Secretary warned yesterday that all outdoor exercise could be banned if people fail to stick to the lockdown rules.
Matt Hancock also blasted sunbathers for risking lives at the weekend as he implored Britons to stay at home.
During the daily briefing from No10 Downing Street, Mr Hancock indicated that the even stricter measures were not “imminent” but ministers would not hesitate to crack down if people continued to flout official guidelines.
Current instructions state that everyone should only leave home to buy food; for health reasons; to get outdoor exercise once a day; or to go to work if they cannot do their job from home. But yesterday and Saturday saw some people sun-bathing and socialising as the weather warmed up.
In a direct plea to people who were breaking the rules, Mr Hancock said: “You are risking your own life and the lives of others and you are making it harder for us all.
“We have included exercise as one of the things that you can leave your house to do because exercise is good for our physical and our mental health – but please do not bend or break this rule.
“We can’t rule out further steps. “But I don’t want anyone to think that any changes to the social distancing rules are imminent because the vast majority are following the rules.”
Mr Hancock also praised the “vast majority” of people for sticking to the Government’s advice.
And he said the end of the lockdown would be determined by “how much people follow the rules on social distancing”.
He added: “The more people follow the rules then the faster we will all be through it.”
Mr Hancock, who has recovered from Covid-19, also said he “understands how difficult” coronavirus is for the country, and that he knew two people who had died from the disease. He said: “I’ve lost two people I was fond of” although he did not name them. One is thought to be Steven Dick, who served as Deputy British Ambassador to Hungary.
Mr Hancock added: “The rules are there for a reason, even for those of us who have had it where the science predicts it’s likely our immunity is higher and our ability to transmit the virus is lower.
“We are not yet confident enough how high the immunity is and how much lower the likelihood of those of us who have had the disease transmitting it is, to be able to change the rules. The rules are the same for everyone and will be until the science can give us confidence that we can say something different to those who have been through it.” He spoke after several countries banned outdoor exercise.
His reminder for Britons to stay at home was echoed at the news briefing by England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries. She said: “We have set those rules, we are enforcing against those rules and we will reiterate those rules.
“Because that is the best way to be able to bend the curve down and stop the spread of the virus.” She also confirmed that care homes were “critical domains” and were high up on the priority list for coronavirus testing.
Meanwhile Prof Neil Ferguson, who has helped shape the Government’s Covid-19 response, said the UK’s outbreak is likely to peak in seven to ten days – and that social distancing measures could be relaxed within weeks.
New hospital admissions had started to fall and he expected the decline to accelerate this week.
But he also told the BBC: “We are not at the level of being able to predict to the nearest day when the
peak arrives. I would say in the next seven to 10 days.
“The critical thing first is to get case numbers down, and then I’m hopeful that in a few weeks’ time we will be able to move to a regime which will not be normal life – let me emphasise that – but will be somewhat more relaxed in terms of social distancing and the economy, but relying more on testing.
“We want to move to a situation where, at least by the end of May, we’re able to substitute some less intensive measures, more based on technology and testing, for the complete lockdown we have now.”
Suffering
He predicted that UK deaths from Covid-19 would rise to between about 7,000 and 20,000.
PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests, ten days after being diagnosed with coronavirus.
His spokeswoman said last night: “On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests.
“This is a precautionary step, as he continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus ten days after testing positive for the virus.”
On Friday Mr Johnson said he was still suffering from a high temperature.