Boris Johnson reveals ‘first careful steps’ of easing coronavirus lockdown as part of 3 phase plan to normal life

0
115

In an address to the nation at 7pm this evening he revealed a detailed roadmap of how to get Britain back on its feet but still keep the deadly virus under control.

Boris Johnson revealed his roadmap for ending the lockdown tonight

But most of Britain’s strict lockdown measures will stay in place for now as it’s still too soon to make any major changes, he said.

“We have the R below one, between 0.5 and 0.9 – but potentially only just below one,” the PM warned the nation.

“And so no, this is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week.

“Instead we are taking the first careful steps to modify our measures.

“And the first step is a change of emphasis that we hope that people will act on this week.”

He revealed his new “stay alert, control the virus and save lives” slogan, too.

In a video message tonight the PM:

  • Urged Brits to get back to work if they can’t from home
  • Revealed Brits would be allowed to sunbathe in parks and play unlimited sport from Wednesday – and can go on day trips
  • Said anyone coming into the country by air would be forced to quarantine
  • Schools will start going back from June – but only if the infection level is low enough
  • Announced he would hike up fines for people who break the rules from £60 to £100 – up to a max of £3,200 for multiple offenders
  • But he warned that pubs, cinemas and mass gatherings would be off the cards for months to come

The PM told the country of his plans to return to a new normal: “We have been through the initial peak – but it is coming down the mountain that is often more dangerous.

“We have a route, and we have a plan, and everyone in government has the all-consuming pressure and challenge to save lives, restore livelihoods and gradually restore the freedoms that we need.

“But in the end this is a plan that everyone must make work.”

As part of his plans to get the nation back to work, he told anyone who was unable to work from home that they now would be expected to go back in.

Workplaces will be in charge of making sure their offices are safe to do so.

But anyone who needs to travel to work should try and avoid public transport if they can.

Boris urged the nation to hop on their bikes and walk if they could do so.

EXERCISE AWAY

And from this Wednesday, the Government will encourage everyone to do more exercise.

Instead of going out just once a day, Boris said: “we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise”.

And that will mean people can leave their homes for leisure too – not just one of the four reasons laid out in the coronavirus laws.

“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,” Boris said.

FINE HIKE

But he revealed a crackdown was on the cards for people who still are flouting the strict rules.

“You must obey the rules on social distancing and to enforce those rules we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them,” he said.

They will go up from £60 to £100 – up to a maximum of £3,200.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Schools and nurseries will start to reopen from June 1 at the earliest,Boris confirmed tonight.

Reception, year one and year six will be the first back in the door.

The Government said it wants to get all primary school kids back before the summer for at least a few weeks.

However, all secondary school kids won’t go back until September.

Children in key years like 10 and 12 will have some one-on-one time with their teachers in the coming weeks, however, to make sure they are still on track.

More details are expected on schools later this week.

QUARANTINE

People coming in from abroad via air will be quarantined for 14 days when they come into the UK, he said.

However, this likely means that Brits going on holiday will have to quarantine when they get back from their own holidays in future too.

At the moment Brits have been told that all non-essential travel should be scrapped.

REOPEN THE NATION

After schools are safely open, only then will the Government look at other measures.

Outdoor cafes and other establishments may then be allowed to reopen if it’s safe to.

Restaurants may also be included – if tables can be kept apart.

COVID ALERT SYSTEM

Boris outlined this evening his new five-point alert system for monitoring the disease.

The PM said: “We must make sure that any measures we take do not force the reproduction rate of the disease – the R – back up over one, so that we have the kind of exponential growth we were facing a few weeks ago.”

The Covid Alert Level will tell the Government how tough 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,” he said.

There will be five alert levels.

Level One – the disease is no longer present in the UK, and Level Five is the most critical, such as if the NHS was overwhelmed.

“Our new system will be able in time to detect local flare-ups – in your area – as well as giving us a national picture,” he said.

All decisions will be driven by “the science, the data and public health”.

All of them will depend on keeping the rate of transmission down.

The PM will give more details tomorrow when he addresses MPs in the House of Commons and publishes the full map – expected to be around 50 pages.

Piles of documents on getting businesses back to work, schools and transport are expected in the coming days too.

Here is where the Government thinks Britain is in terms of the curve of the disease