Government urging public to be ‘sensible’

● Lockdown restrictions ease in England – despite criticism from scientific experts

Agovernment health expert has told people to limit themselves to what is “sensible” rather than “possible”, ahead of lockdown restrictions being eased in England.

At the daily Downing Street Covid-19 press conference, deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries warned people to use common sense as restrictions are lifted, allowing groups of up six people to meet outside if they practise social distancing.

Dr Harries said now is a “critical time” and urged people to ensure they did not contribute to a resurgence of the virus.

She said: “It is not just about what it is possible to do, it’s about what it is sensible to do, and what is sensible to do is have as few interactions as possible as you can with other people.”

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick insisted the government’s easing of restrictions was correct, despite criticism from scientific experts.

He said: “We’re reasonably confident that the steps we’ve taken, and will be taking on Monday, are manageable.”

Referring to the R rate, or infection rate, of coronavirus, Mr Jenrick said: “We have to all continue to play our part in that, because the rate of infection remains somewhere between 0.7 and 0.9 and the room for manoeuvre is quite limited.”

The comments came as the Department of Health said 38,489 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK, as of 5pm on Saturday, up by 113 from 38,376 the day before.

Speaking about new guidelines to allow 2.2 million people classed as “vulnerable” to have more social interaction, the minister said: “We’re not today asking people, or advising people, to stop shielding.

“Far from it. What we’re saying to the people who have been shielding for the last 10 weeks is that we think that the rate of infection is sufficiently low now to enable you to do some quite modest things, like going outside for a walk with members of your household, or like, if you’ve been living alone, meeting somebody from another household.”

Meanwhile, daily coronavirus testing capacity reached 200,000 on Saturday, including capacity for 40,000 antibody tests a day, meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s target of reaching the milestone by the end of May.

The Department of Health said capacity was reached through diagnostic tests – with capacity currently at more than 112,000 – antibody testing and surveillance testing, which was launched to determine how the virus moved through the population.

Mr Jenrick also repeated Foreign

Secretary Dominic Raab’s message that England was “transitioning” from level four to level three on the Covid Alert Levels system, which measures the threat level of coronavirus in the UK.

According to the system, gradual easing of restrictions is supposed to take place at level three, but Mr Raab said it was possible because the government’s five tests to change measures have been met.

He added: “We can’t just stay in lockdown forever. We have got to transition.”

Dr Harries’ comments echo a warning from fellow deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, who said at Saturday’s briefing the government and public had a “dual responsibility” to prevent a second wave of the virus.

Meanwhile The Observer reported that a letter sent by 26 senior UK academics and health administrators to Downing Street complained about the impact of Dominic Cummings’ actions in driving from London to Durham with his wife and child during lockdown.