SEE YOU SOON
Lockdown eased from Monday to allow up to six people to meet outside – but we’ll still have to stay two metres apart
GROUPS of up to six people will be allowed to meet outside provided they stay two metres apart as Boris Johnson announced a “cautious” easing of lockdown rules amid a continuing row over Dominic Cummings.
The Prime Minister confirmed that all five tests required for the next phase of restrictions to begin have been met, meaning more pupils can return to school and outdoor retail and car showrooms can open from Monday in England.
Mr Johnson outlined that people would be able to see “both parents at once, or both grandparents at once” in what he said would be a “longawaited and joyful moment” for many.
The PM set out the details just hours after Durham Constabulary said they would have taken action if police officers had stopped Mr Cummings on his 50-mile round trip to Barnard Castle.
He said he regarded the issue as “closed” after the police said they did not intend to take “retrospective action”, though the force found that the aide may have committed “a minor breach” of lockdown rules in driving to the town.
Mr Johnson told the daily press conference that people should “try to avoid seeing too many households in quick succession so we can avoid the risk of quick transmission from lots of different families and continue to control the virus”.
“It remains the case that people should not be inside the homes of their friends and families, unless it is to access the garden.
“I should add that, at this stage, I am afraid that those who have been asked to shield themselves should continue to do so.”
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance stressed that the number of new infections is around one in a thousand per week – meaning that “54,000 new cases are occurring every week, so somewhere around eight or so thousand per day”.
He said: “That is not a low number, so it’s worth remembering that we still have a significant burden of infection, we are still seeing new infections every day at quite a significant rate and the R is close to one.
“That means there is not a lot of room to do things and things need to be done cautiously, step-by-step and monitored and the Test and Trace system needs to be effective in order to manage that.”
Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said it was “really important” that people stayed two metres apart when meeting outside – saying that they would not be counted as a contact, and therefore would not need to self-isolate, if someone they met at a distance then developed coronavirus.
Mr Johnson blocked Sir Patrick and Prof Whitty from answering questions about the row over Mr Cummings to “protect them” from a “political argument”.
The PM said: “I’ve said quite a lot on this matter already and what I also note is that what Durham police said was that they were going to take no action and that the matter was closed.
“And I intend to draw a line under the matter, as I said yesterday to the Parliamentary Liaison Committee.”
He added: “I know that you’ve asked Chris and Patrick, but I’m going to interpose myself if I may and protect them from what I think would be an unfair and unnecessary attempt to ask any political questions.”
Both advisers later said they did not wish to get involved in politics after being asked if they were comfortable with Mr Johnson telling them they could not answer questions about Mr Cummings.
In other developments, Mr Johnson said that from June 15, secondary schools will begin to provide “some face to face contact time” for years 10 and 12, while all shops will be able to open with social distancing measures in place; and contact tracers began tracking down people who have come into close contact with coronavirus sufferers, amid reports of major problems with the NHS Test and Trace system.