Tag: Boris Johnson

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 10 June 2020.

Good evening, two weeks ago, I set out the progress we as a country have made against our five tests for adjusting the lockdown, and the measures we could introduce as a result.

And today, I want to update you again on those five tests and set out some further changes we can now make.

So can I have the first slide please?

The five tests are designed, as you know, to ensure that any changes to the lockdown are careful, proportionate, and safe.

They combine analysis of the latest data on the spread of the disease with assessments of how well we are placed to meet the operational challenges posed by the virus.

We must do everything in our power to avoid a second peak of infection that overwhelms the NHS – because that would lead to more lives lost, more families in mourning, and more disruption to our economy and way of life.

Next slide please.

Our first test is to protect the NHS’s ability to cope, so that we are confident that we are able to provide sufficient critical care and specialist treatment right across the UK.

It’s thanks to the efforts of those working in the NHS that we can still be confident the NHS can cope.

On 7 June, 443 people were admitted to hospital with coronavirus in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, down from 628 two weeks earlier, and down from a peak of 3,431 on 1 April.

And on 9 June, 492 patients with coronavirus were in mechanical ventilation beds in the UK, down from 848 two weeks earlier, and down from a peak of 3,301 on 12 April.

So that means we are still meeting the first test.

Next slide please.

Our second test is to see a sustained and consistent fall in the daily death rates from COVID-19 so we are confident that we have moved beyond the peak.

And of those who have tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, I am sad to say that 41,128 have now died. That’s an increase of 245 fatalities since yesterday.

As measured by a 7-day rolling average, the UK daily death rate now stands at 200, down from 300 two weeks ago, and down from a peak of 943 on 14 April.

So the death rate has continued to fall, and so the second test is still being met.

Next slide please.

Our third test is to receive reliable data from SAGE showing that the rate of infection – the number of people catching Covid – is decreasing to manageable levels across the board.

In total, 290,143 people have now tested positive for coronavirus, which is an increase of 1,003 cases since yesterday.

The seven day rolling average of new positive cases found through testing is now 1,419, down from 2,416 two weeks ago, and down from a peak of 5,195 in the first week of May.

In a moment, Sir Patrick will talk us through SAGE’s latest assessment of the R and other evidence on infection rates.

Based on the various data available, the government is satisfied the third test is being met.

Next slide please.

Our fourth test is that we must be confident that the range of operational challenges, including on testing capacity and Personal Protective Equipment, are in hand, with supply able to meet future demand.

Yesterday 170,379 tests were carried out or posted out across the UK, compared to around 12,000 at the start of April. The total now stands at 6,042,622.

Tomorrow the Health Secretary will provide an update on how NHS Test and Trace is performing.

On PPE, we have secured over 150 deals with new suppliers around the world and procured 2.2 billion items of PPE to be manufactured domestically.

Despite the immensely frustrating difficulties we have faced with PPE and testing in the past, this progress means we are now satisfied that the fourth test is being met – though of course we remain vigilant.

Next slide please.

Our fifth and final test is that we must be confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelms the NHS.

I am grateful to the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Chief Medical Officer for their advice on the measures I am about to set out – and on this basis I can confirm the Government judges we have met the fifth test.

Therefore, the Government is satisfied that all five tests are still being met and we can proceed with the following further adjustments to the lockdown in England.

A month ago I set out our roadmap to recovery and that explained the gradual steps we would take to ease the lockdown, as the data and the evidence allows. The measures it contained were all conditional on continued progress in tackling the virus. We are continuing to follow our roadmap, while adjusting our approach as we need to, as we always said we would.

Although we are tackling this virus as one United Kingdom, it remains the case that the devolved administrations are responsible for lockdown in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And it is right that they move at the right pace for them, according to their circumstances.

For that reason, the specific measures I am about to set out apply in England only.

First, on retail, shops. This has been the most challenging period for shops and high streets in our history. Never before have all shops been ordered to shut in this way. It has now been 82 days since we asked these shops to close their doors and I know the toll this has taken.

Which is why I am so pleased that, as the Business Secretary confirmed yesterday, we can now allow all shops to reopen from Monday. It is vital that establishments should ensure they are meeting Covid Secure guidelines before they reopen.

That way we can keep staff and customers safe while we get retail going.

Second, on social contact. I know how difficult the past months have been for people cut off from their friends and family.

Last Monday, we relaxed the rules on meeting outdoors so that groups of up to 6 could gather, provided they are socially distant. We did so in the knowledge that transmission of the virus is much lower outdoors, so we could make this change in a safe way.

But there are still too many people, particularly those who live by themselves, who are lonely and struggling with being unable to see friends and family.

From this weekend, we will allow single adult households – so adults living alone or single parents with children under 18 – to form a “support bubble” with one other household.

All those in a support bubble will be able to act as if they live in the same household – meaning they can spend time together inside each others’ homes and do not need to stay 2 metres apart.

I want to stress that support bubbles must be exclusive – meaning you cannot switch the household you are in a bubble with or connect with multiple households. And if any member of the support bubble develops symptoms, all members of the bubble will need to follow the normal advice on household isolation.

We are making this change to support those who are particularly lonely as a result of lockdown measures. It is a targeted intervention to limit the most harmful effects of the current social restrictions. It is emphatically not designed for people who don’t qualify to start meeting inside other people’s homes – that remains against the law.

Unfortunately, we cannot advise anyone who is shielding to form a support bubble at this stage, given their particular vulnerability to the virus. However, I want to say I know how hard it is for those of you who are shielding, and we will say more next week about the arrangements that will be in place for you beyond the end of June.

Third, on outdoor attractions. Because the risk of transmission is lower outdoors, we can open up some more outdoor attractions for people to enjoy this summer.

So from Monday, we will allow outdoor attractions where people can stay in their cars, such as safari parks and drive-in cinemas to open.

I am very grateful to the zoo industry for their cooperation and forbearance, and am happy to confirm that they too can reopen from Monday, provided visitor numbers are managed and safeguards put in place. That includes keeping indoor areas such as reptile houses closed and facilitating social distancing.

Finally, we will allow places of worship to open for individual prayer this weekend. And I hope that will be of some comfort to those of faith who have been unable to go to their place of worship.

As set out in our roadmap, the next set of changes – Step 3 – will not begin until 4 July at the earliest, as the evidence allows.

I know that these changes are only incremental and that some of you, many of you, may be hoping and waiting for more.

I also know that people will once again find anomalies or apparent anomalies in what people can and cannot do.

And as I have said before, I’m afraid that is just inevitable when we are only able to give people a small amount of the freedoms that they usually enjoy.

We will continue to remain cautious and measure the effect of the changes that we make. And as I’ve always said, we won’t hesitate to apply the brakes if that is what the situation requires.

That has meant moving slower than we would have liked in some areas.

It is because the rate of infection is not yet quite low enough, and because we are not able to change our social distancing advice including smaller class sizes in schools, that we are not proceeding with our ambition to bring back all primary pupils at least for some weeks before the summer holidays. Instead we are working with teachers to bring back as many pupils as we can within those smaller class sizes.

We do fully intend to bring all children back to school in September, provided the progress we are making continues, which I hope it will. That is our focus and it is consistent with the approach that has been taken by many other countries in Europe.

In the meantime we must stick to our roadmap.

I urge everyone to continue to show restraint and respect the rules which are designed to keep us all safe. It’s only because of the restraint that everyone, you all have shown so far that we are able to move gradually out of this lockdown.

So please, to repeat what you’ve heard so many times before, stay alert, maintain social distancing and keep washing your hands.

Help control the virus by getting tested if you have symptoms and isolating if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

Then, if we all do that together, we will all save lives and begin to rebuild our country.

And I’ll now hand over to Sir Patrick.

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 3 June 2020.

First let me first run you through the latest data on our coronavirus response.

4,786,219 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out or posted out in the UK, including 171,829 tests yesterday.

279,856 people have tested positive, and that’s an increase of 1,871 cases since yesterday.

7,485 people are in hospital with COVID-19 in the UK, down 16% from 8,921 this time last week.

And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 39,728 have now died. That’s an increase of 359 fatalities since yesterday and once again we are with their families in mourning.

Now that the rate of transmission in the UK has significantly fallen from its peak, we need to take steps to manage the flare-ups and stop the virus re-emerging in the UK.

I want to update you on the progress we are making on three fronts to prevent a second wave of infections that could overwhelm the NHS.

First, we have set up NHS Test and Trace in order to identify, contain and control the virus in the UK, thereby reducing its spread.

As we move to the next stage of our fight against coronavirus, we will be able to replace national lockdowns with individual isolation and, if necessary, local action where there are outbreaks.

NHS Test and Trace will be vital to controlling the spread of the virus. It’s how we will be able to protect our friends and family from infection, and protect our NHS.

It does this by identifying anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, and asking them to isolate for 14 days in order to avoid unknowingly infecting others.

The system clearly relies on everyone playing their part.

So I want to stress again today: we need you to get a test if you have coronavirus symptoms – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss of taste or smell.

There is plenty of capacity and everyone with symptoms is eligible, everyone with symptoms, so please order a test from nhs.uk/coronavirus as soon as you develop symptoms.

And we need you to isolate yourself if a contact tracer tells you that you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive.

NHS Test and Trace started operating a week ago. And already thousands of people are isolating who wouldn’t have been doing so before this service was introduced. They are thereby protecting others and reducing the spread of the virus.

So while we are going to all these efforts here in the UK to control the virus, we must also ensure we don’t reimport the virus from abroad.

So the second action I want to update you on is the introduction of public health measures at the border.

Today the Home Secretary has brought forward the legislation needed to establish the new regime from Monday.

And I want to explain the reasons for introducing these measures now.

When coronavirus started to spread around the world, first from Wuhan and then from northern Italy and other areas, we introduced enhanced monitoring at the border in an attempt to stop the virus from gaining a foothold in the UK.

These measures applied, at various different times, to arrivals from China, Japan, Iran and Italy, and required people with symptoms travelling from those countries to self-isolate for 14 days.

However, once community transmission was widespread within the UK, cases from abroad made up a tiny proportion of the total. At the same time you’ll remember that international travel plummeted as countries around the world went into lockdown. So as a result, measures at the border were halted because they made little difference at the time in our fight against the virus.

Now that we’re getting the virus under control in the UK, there’s a risk cases from abroad begin once again to make up a greater proportion of overall cases. We therefore need to take steps now to manage that risk of these imported cases triggering a second peak.

So just as we are asking people already in the UK to isolate for 14 days when contacted by NHS Test and Trace, we’re also asking those arriving from abroad to isolate so that they don’t unknowingly spread the virus.

There will be some exemptions for a limited number of people who need to cross the border, such as those engaged directly in the fight against coronavirus or who provide essential services.

And we will review how the policy is working after three weeks. And of course we will explore the possibility of international travel corridors with countries that have low rates of infection – but only when the evidence shows that it is safe to do so.

The third point I want to make today is we need effective international action to reduce the impact of the virus across the globe.

This is the moment really for humanity to unite in the fight against the disease.

Health experts have warned that if coronavirus is left to spread in developing countries, that could lead to future waves of infection coming back and reaching the UK.

While our amazing NHS has been there for everyone in this country who needs it, many developing countries have healthcare systems which are ill-prepared to manage this pandemic.

So to ensure that the world’s poorest countries have the support they need to slow the spread of the virus, tomorrow I will open the Global Vaccine Summit.

Hosted by the UK, and will bring together more than 50 countries and leading figures like Bill Gates to raise at least $7.4 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Over the next five years – with the UK’s support as Gavi’s biggest donor – this Vaccine Alliance aims to immunise a further 300 million children in the poorest countries against deadly diseases like polio, typhoid and measles – again saving millions of lives.

This support for routine immunisations will shore up poorer countries’ healthcare systems to deal with coronavirus – and so help to stop the global spread and, as I say, prevent a second wave of the virus reaching the UK.

This virus has shown how connected we are. We’re fighting an invisible enemy. And no one is safe frankly until we are all safe.

And again, of course this is all contingent upon each of us continuing to do our bit.

And as I never tire of telling you

Let us not forget the basics.

Wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds, wash your hands.

Do not gather in groups of more than six outside.

Always observe social distancing, keeping 2 metres apart from anyone outside your household.

And I want to stress one final point which may be relevant today as the weather threatens I think to take a turn for the worse. Some of you may be tempted to move the gatherings you’ve been enjoying outdoors, indoors, out of the rain.

I really urge you – don’t do that.

We relaxed the rules on meeting outside for a very specific reason – because the evidence shows that the risks of transmission are much lower outdoors, much lower outdoors.

And the risks of passing on the virus are significantly higher indoors, which is why gatherings inside other people’s homes are still prohibited.

Breaking these rules now could undermine and reverse all the progress that we’ve made together.

I have no doubt that that won’t happen, I’ve no doubt that that won’t happen. I think the British public will continue to show the same resolve in fighting the virus as they have throughout the outbreak.

We will get through this if we stay alert, control the virus, and in doing so save lives.

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 24 May 2020.

Good afternoon.

I want to begin by answering the big question that people have been asking in the last 48 hours. And that is – is this Government asking you – the people, the public, to do one thing while senior people here in government do something else?

Have we been asking you to make sacrifices, to obey social distancing, to stay at home while some people have been basically flouting those rules and endangering lives?

And it is because I take this matter so seriously and frankly it is so serious that I can tell you today I have had extensive face to face conversations with Dominic Cummings and I have concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare, at the moment when both he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus. And when he had no alternative, I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent. And I do not mark him down for that. And though there have been many other allegations about what happened when he was in self-isolation and thereafter, some of them palpably false.

I believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly, and legally, and with integrity, and with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives.

And I stress this fundamental aim, because it is thanks to this country’s collective resolve in achieving that aim that we continue to make progress.

So let me give you today’s figures:

3,458,905 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 110,401 tests carried out yesterday

259,559 people have tested positive, that’s an increase of 2,409 cases since yesterday – a smaller increase than we were seeing over the last few weeks

8,951 people are in hospital with COVID-19 in the UK, down 11% from 10,085 this time last week

And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 36,793 have now died. That’s an increase of 118 fatalities since yesterday.

And each of those fatalities represents a family in mourning, the grief of friends and relatives. And as we mourn them we resolve again to beat this virus and get our country back on its feet. We can and we will.

Two weeks ago I set out the Government’s roadmap to begin easing the measures we put in place to control the spread of coronavirus.

I said that we would do so in a safe and controlled way, based on our assessment of progress against the five tests we set for adjusting the lockdown.

We’re going to set out that assessment in detail in the coming days, but today I can confirm that I do believe we will be in a position to move to step 2 of our plan.

As part of Step 2, we set out plans for a phased reopening of schools.

Because the education of our children is crucial for their welfare, their health, for their long term future and for social justice

And so in line with the approach being taken by other countries, we want to start getting our children back in the classroom in a way that is manageable and as safe as possible.

So we said this would begin with early years settings and reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in primary schools.

Today I can announce that it is our intention to go ahead with that as planned on June 1st, a week on Monday.

We then intend, from June 15th, for secondary schools to provide some contact for Year 10 and Year 12 students to help them prepare for exams next year, with up to a quarter of these students in at any point.

By opening schools to more pupils in this limited way, we are taking a deliberately cautious approach.

And this comes after a constructive period of consultation with schools, teachers and unions, led by the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.

I want to thank all the Education and childcare staff who have stepped up to the challenge and kept schools open throughout this crisis.

The Department for Education will engage with teaching unions, local authorities and school leaders in the coming days, giving them an opportunity to ask questions and probe the evidence behind our plans.

And the final decision will be taken as part of the formal review into lockdown measures which the law requires us to undertake by Thursday. We will of course continue to consider all the evidence (as we said we would do), and will continue to work hard with those bodies over the course of the coming week.

However, I think it is important for us to be clear about the Government’s intentions now, so that teachers and parents can plan in earnest for schools to reopen a week on Monday.

Now I acknowledge that a 1 June opening may not be possible for all schools, but the Government will continue to support and work with the sector to ensure that any schools experiencing difficulties are able to open more widely as soon as possible.

Detailed guidance has been published by the Department for Education on how schools can open in a way which is safe for children, teachers and parents.

While of course we recognise that full social distancing may not be possible, especially when teaching young children, our guidance sets out a range of protective measures to keep children and staff safe. This includes:

reducing the size of classes and keeping children in small groups without mixing with others

staggered break and lunch times, as well as drop offs and pick ups

increasing the frequency of cleaning, reducing the used of shared items and utilising outdoor space

All children and staff, and their families, will have access to testing if they display symptoms. This will enable children and staff to get back to school if they test negative, and if they test positive we will take the appropriate reactive measures.

We will continue to work with the sector to support them to prepare for wider opening and ensure all children and young people can continue to receive the best care, education and training possible.

We will set out what moving to step 2 means for other areas, such as non-essential retail and more social contacts, over the course of the next week.

And let me stress once again: we are making good progress.

But that progress is conditional, provisional.

We must keep reducing the incidence of this disease.

We must keep that R down below 1.

And that means we must remember the basics.

Wash our hands, keep social distance, isolate if you have symptoms – and get a test.

We are beating this thing, but we will beat it all the faster if we stay alert, control the virus and save lives.

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister on 25 May 2020.

Good evening and welcome to the Number Ten Coronavirus Press Conference

Before I turn to this evening’s announcements, I want to update you on the latest data

3,532,634 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 73,726 tests carried out yesterday;

261,184 people have tested positive, that’s an increase of 1,625 cases since yesterday;

8,834 people are in hospital with COVID-19 in the UK, down (12%) from 10,092 this time last week;

And sadly, of those who tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 36,914 have now died. That’s an increase of 121 fatalities since yesterday. This new figure includes deaths in all settings not just in hospitals.

And once again my deepest condolences go out to all those who have lost their loved ones before their time. We must not, and will not, forget them.

Two weeks ago, I set out our road map for the next phase of our fight against Covid 19.

It is a cautious plan, informed by the evidence about what is safe, and conditional upon our continued progress against the virus.

And we are making progress. Thanks to this country’s collective efforts, the key indicators are heading in the right direction. The daily number of deaths is down, the number of new cases is down, our survey evidence suggests the infection rate is falling, and the R has not risen above one.

So just over 2 weeks ago, we moved to step 1 of our plan, encouraging those who are unable to work from home to go back to work, with new guidelines setting out how workplaces can be made COVID-secure.

At the same time, we allowed people to spend more time outdoors and to meet one member of another household outside, provided they remain 2 metres apart.

I also said we would be able to move to step 2 of our plan no earlier than Monday 1 June – a week today.

We will set out our formal assessment of the 5 tests that we set for adjusting the lockdown later this week, as part of the 3 weekly-review we are legally required to undertake by Thursday.

But because of the progress we are making, I can, with confidence, put the British people on notice of the changes we intend to introduce as we move into step 2.

And I think it is important to give that notice, so that people have sufficient time to adjust and get ready before those changes come into effect.

Yesterday I set out our intention to begin reopening nurseries and particular years in primary schools, reception, year 1, year 6, from 1 June, followed by some contact for those secondary school pupils with exams next year from 15 June. Some contact for years 10 and 12 from 15 June with their teachers.

This announcement has given schools, teachers and parents clarity about our intentions, enabling them to prepare in earnest. The Department for Education is now engaging with teaching unions, councils and school leaders to help schools get ready.

Today, I want to give the retail sector notice of our intentions to reopen shops, so they too can get ready.

So I can announce that it is our intention to allow outdoor markets to reopen from June 1, subject to all premises being made COVID-secure, as well as car showrooms, which often have significant outdoor space and where it is generally easier to apply social distancing.

We know that the transmission of the virus is lower outdoors and that it is easier to follow Covid Secure guidelines in open spaces. That means we can also allow outdoor markets to reopen in a safe way that does not risk causing a second wave of the virus.

Then, from 15 June, we intend to allow all other non-essential retail, ranging from department stores to small, independent shops, to reopen. Again, this change will be contingent upon progress against the 5 tests and will only be permitted for those retail premises which are COVID-secure.

Today we are publishing new guidance for the retail sector detailing the measures they should take to meet the necessary social distancing and hygiene standards. Shops now have the time to implement this guidance before they reopen. This will ensure there can be no doubt about what steps they should take.

While the vast majority of businesses will want to do everything possible to protect their staff and customers, I should add that we will, of course, have the powers we need to enforce compliance where that is required.

I want people to be confident they can shop safely, provided they follow the social distancing rules for all premises.

The food retail sector has already responded fantastically well, enabling supermarkets to be kept open in a safe way – and we will learn lessons from that experience as we allow other retail to open.

These are careful but deliberate steps on the road to rebuilding our country.

And we can only take these steps thanks to what we have so far achieved together.

We will only be successful if we all remember the basics – so wash your hands, keep social distance, and isolate if you have symptoms – and get a test.

I will now hand over to Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director of Public Health England, to take us through today’s slides.

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 11 May 2020.

Mr Speaker, with permission, I will make a statement about the next steps in our battle against coronavirus, and how we can, with the utmost caution, gradually begin to rebuild our economy and reopen our society.

For the last two months, the British people have faced a grave threat with common sense, compassion and unflinching resolve.

We have together observed the toughest restrictions on our freedoms in memory, changing our way of life on a scale unimaginable only months ago.

All our efforts have been directed towards protecting our NHS and saving lives.

Tragically, many families have lost loved ones before their time and we share their grief. Yet our shared effort has averted a still worse catastrophe, one that could have overwhelmed the NHS and claimed half a million lives.

Every day, dedicated doctors, nurses, and social care workers, army medics and more have risked their own lives in the service of others, they have helped to cut the Reproduction rate from between 2.6 and 2.8 in April to between 0.5 and 0.9 today.

The number of covid patients in hospital has fallen by over a third since Easter Sunday.

Our armed forces joined our NHS to build new hospitals on timetables that were telescoped from years to weeks, almost doubling the number of critical care beds, and ensuring that since the end of March, at least a third have always been available.

Our challenge now is to find a way forward that preserves our hard won gains, while easing the burden of the lockdown.

And I will be candid with the House: this is a supremely difficult balance to strike.

There could be no greater mistake than to jeopardise everything we have striven to achieve by proceeding too far and too fast.

We will be driven not by hope or economic revival as an end in itself, but by data, and science and public health.

And so the Government is submitting to the House today a plan which is conditional and dependent as always on the common sense and observance of the British people, and on continual re-assessment of the data.

That picture varies across the regions and Home Nations of the United Kingdom, requiring a flexible response. Different parts of the UK may need to stay in full lockdown longer but any divergence should only be short-term because as Prime Minister of the UK, I am in no doubt that we must defeat this threat and face the challenge of recovery together.

Our progress will depend on meeting five essential tests: protecting the NHS, reducing both the daily death toll and the infection rate in a sustained way, ensuring that testing and PPE can meet future demand – a global problem, but one that we must fix, and avoiding a second peak that would overwhelm the NHS.

A new UK-wide Joint Biosecurity Centre will measure our progress with a five-stage Covid Alert System, and the combined effect of our measures so far has been to prevent us from reaching Level Five, a situation that would have seen the NHS overwhelmed, and to hold us at Level Four.

Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the British people by following the social distancing rules, we are now in a position where we can move in stages to where I hope the scientific advice will tell us that we are down to Level Three.

But this will only happen if everyone continues to play their part, to stay alert and to follow the rules.

We must also deal with the epidemic in care homes, where a tragic number of the elderly and vulnerable have been lost and while the situation is thankfully improving, there is a vast amount more to be done.

And of course we need a world-leading system for testing and tracking and tracing victims and their contacts so I’m delighted that Baroness Harding, the chair of NHS Improvement, has agreed to take charge of a programme that will ultimately enable us to test hundreds of thousands of people every day.

All this means we have begun our descent from the peak of the epidemic, but our journey has reached the most perilous moment where a wrong move could be disastrous.

So at this stage, we can go no further than to announce the first careful modifications of our measures, Step 1 in moving towards Covid Alert Level 3, a shift in emphasis that we can begin this week.

Anyone who cannot work from home should be actively encouraged to go to work.

And sectors that are allowed to be open should indeed be open, but subject to social distancing.

These include food production, construction, manufacturing, logistics, distribution, scientific research.

And to support this, to explain this again, we are publishing guidance for businesses on how to make these workplaces safe. Covid secure.

People who are able to work from home, as we’ve continually said, should continue to do so, and people who cannot work from home should talk to their employers about returning this week and the difficulties they may or may not have.

Anyone with covid symptoms obviously – or in a household where someone else has symptoms – should self-isolate.

We want everyone travelling to work to be safe, so people should continue to avoid public transport wherever possible because we must maintain social distancing which will inevitably limit capacity.

Instead people should drive or better still walk or cycle.

With more activity outside our homes, we would now advise people to wear a cloth face covering in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not always possible, and you are more likely to come in contact with people you do not normally meet.

The reason is face coverings can help to protect each other and reduce the spread of the disease, particularly if you have coronavirus like symptoms.

But this does not mean – and I must stress this – this does not mean wearing medical face masks, 2R or FFP3, which must be reserved for people who need them.

We have all lived so far with onerous restrictions Mr Speaker on outdoor spaces and exercise, and this is where my honourable friend interjects as I know he’s a keen swimmer and unfortunately we can’t do anything for swimming pools but we can do something for lakes and the sea. and this is where we can go significantly further because there is a lower risk from outdoors than indoors.

So from Wednesday there will be no limits on the frequency of outdoor exercise people can take.

You can now walk, sit and rest in parks, you can play sports and exercise, and you can do all these things with members of your own household, or with one other person from another household, provided you observe social distancing and remain 2 metres apart from them.

And I do hope that’s clear Mr Speaker. I’m conscious people want to come back and ask questions in more detail and I’d be very happy to answer.

We shall increase the fines for the small minority who break the rules, starting at £100 but doubling with each infringement up to £3,600.

You can drive as far as you like to reach an outdoor space, subject to the same rules and the laws and guidance of the Devolved Administrations.

I am sorry to say however, Mr Speaker, that we shall continue to ask those who are clinically vulnerable – including pregnant women and people over 70, or those with pre-existing chronic conditions – to take particular care to minimise contact with those outside their households.

And we must continue to shield people who are extremely vulnerable. They should, I am afraid, remain at home and avoid any direct contact with others.

I know that easing restrictions for the many will only increase the anguish of those who must remain shielded, so the Government will look at every possible way of supporting the most vulnerable.

Mr Speaker, all of our precautions will count for little if our country is re-infected from overseas, so I give notice that we shall introduce new restrictions at the UK border, requiring 14 days of self-isolation for international arrivals, while respecting our common travel area with Ireland.

Every day, we shall monitor our progress, and if we stay on the downward slope, and the R remains below 1, then – and only then – will it become safe to go further, and move to the second step.

This will not happen until 1st June at the earliest, but we may then be in a position to start the phased reopening of shops; to return children to early years’ settings, including nurseries and childminders; to return primary schools in stages, giving priority to the youngest children in reception and year 1, and those in year 6 preparing for secondary school; and to enable secondary school pupils facing exams next year to get at least some time with their teachers.

Our ambition – and I stress this is conditional Mr Speaker –is for all primary school pupils to return to the classroom for a month before the summer break.

To those ends, we are publishing guidance on how schools might reopen safely.

Step two could also include allowing cultural and sporting events behind closed doors for broadcast, which I think would provide a much needed boost to national morale.

But nothing can substitute for human contact and so the Government has asked SAGE when and how we could safely allow people to expand their household group to include one other household, on a strictly reciprocal basis.

Finally, and no earlier than July, we may be able to move to step three – if and only if supported by the data, and the best scientific advice.

We would then aim to reopen some remaining businesses, including potentially hospitality, cinemas and hairdressers as well as places of worship and leisure facilities.

And this will depend on maintaining social distancing and new ways of providing services, so we will phase and pilot any re-openings to ensure public safety.

And I must be clear again: if the data goes the wrong way, if the Alert Level begins to rise, we will have no hesitation in putting on the brakes, delaying or reintroducing measures – locally, regionally or nationally.

Mr Speaker, our struggle against this virus has placed our country under the kind of strain that will be remembered for generations.

But so too has the response of the British people, from dedicated shopworkers keeping our supermarkets open, and ingenious teachers finding new ways of inspiring their pupils, to the kindness of millions who have checked on their neighbours, delivered food for the elderly, or raised astonishing amounts for charity.

In these and in so many other ways, we are seeing the indomitable spirit of Britain.

And Mr speaker let me summarise by saying that people should Stay Alert by working from home if you possibly can, by limiting contact with other people, by keeping your distance 2 metres apart where possible – by washing your hands regularly, and if you or anyone in your household has symptoms, you all need to self-isolate.

Because if everyone stays alert and follows the rules, we can control the virus, keep the rate of infection down and the keep number of infections down.

And this Mr Speaker is how we can continue to save lives, and livelihoods, as we begin to recover from coronavirus, and I commend this statement to the House.

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 11 May 2020.

Good evening and thank you for joining us for this Downing Street press conference.

First of all, I want to update you on the latest data in our fight against coronavirus. I can report through the Government’s ongoing testing and monitoring programme that, as of today:

1,921,770 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 100,490 tests carried out yesterday;

223,060 people have tested positive, that’s an increase of 3,877 cases since yesterday;

11,401 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, down from 11,768 the previous day.

And sadly, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 32,065 have now died. That’s an increase of 210 fatalities since yesterday. This figure includes deaths in all settings not just in hospitals.

Before we begin questions from the public and from the media I just want to remind people of a number of important things I said in my address to the nation last night.

First, in order to monitor our progress, we are establishing a new COVID Alert Level System. The COVID Alert Level has five levels, each relating to the level of threat posed by the virus. The level will be primarily determined by the R value and the number of coronavirus cases. In turn, that COVID Alert Level will determine the level of social distancing measures in place. The lower the level the fewer the measures; the higher the level the stricter the measures.

Throughout the period of lockdown which started on March 23rd we have been at Level 4 – meaning a Covid19 epidemic is in general circulation, and transmission is high or rising exponentially. Thanks to the hard work and sacrifices of the British people in this lockdown, we have helped to bring the R level down and we are now in a position to begin moving to Level 3, in steps.

And we have set out the first of three steps we will take to carefully modify the measures, gradually ease the lockdown, and begin to allow people to return to their way of life – but crucially while avoiding what would be a disastrous second peak that overwhelms the NHS.

After each step we will closely monitor the impact of that step on the R and the number of infections, and all the available data, and we will only take the next step when we are satisfied that it is safe to do so.

Step 1 – from this week:

Those who cannot work from home should now speak to their employer about going back to work.

You can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like.

You can meet one person outside of your household outside (outdoors), provided you stay 2 metres apart. The social distancing measures remain absolutely crucial to us keeping the infection rate and the number of cases down as low as we possibly can.

Step 2 – from June 1, at the earliest, as long as the data allows, we aim to allow:

Primary schools to reopen for some pupils, in smaller class sizes;

Non-essential retail to start to reopen, when and where it is safe to do so;

Cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors, without crowds.

And then Step 3 – no earlier than July 4, and again, only if the data says it safe, we aim to allow:

More businesses and premises to open, including potentially those offering personal care such as leisure facilities, public places, and places of worship. Many of these businesses will need to operate in new ways to ensure they are safe, and we will work with these sectors on how to do this.

So, given we have taken the first step in carefully adjusting some of the measures today, and therefore our advice to people on what to do, we have also updated our messaging. We are now asking people to Stay Alert, Control the Virus and Save Lives.

Yes – staying alert, for the vast majority of people, still means staying at home as much as possible. But there are a range of other actions we’re advising people to take as we modify measures.

People should Stay Alert, by:

working from home if you can;

limiting contact with other people;

keeping distance if you go out – 2 metres apart where possible;

washing your hands regularly;

wearing a face covering when you are in enclosed spaces where it’s difficult to be socially distant – for example in some shops and on public transport;

and if you or anyone in your household has symptoms, you all need to self-isolate.

Because if everyone stays alert and follows the rules, we can control coronavirus by keeping the R down and reducing the number of infections. This is how we can continue to save lives, and livelihoods, as we begin as a nation to recover from coronavirus.

Below is the text of the statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 10 May 2020.

It is now almost two months since the people of this country began to put up with restrictions on their freedom – your freedom – of a kind that we have never seen before in peace or war.

And you have shown the good sense to support those rules overwhelmingly.

You have put up with all the hardships of that programme of social distancing.

Because you understand that as things stand, and as the experience of every other country has shown, it’s the only way to defeat the coronavirus – the most vicious threat this country has faced in my lifetime.

And though the death toll has been tragic, and the suffering immense.

And though we grieve for all those we have lost.

It is a fact that by adopting those measures we prevented this country from being engulfed by what could have been a catastrophe in which the reasonable worst case scenario was half a million fatalities.

And it is thanks to your effort and sacrifice in stopping the spread of this disease that the death rate is coming down and hospital admissions are coming down.

And thanks to you we have protected our NHS and saved many thousands of lives.

And so I know – you know – that it would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike.

We must stay alert.

We must continue to control the virus and save lives.

And yet we must also recognise that this campaign against the virus has come at colossal cost to our way of life.

We can see it all around us in the shuttered shops and abandoned businesses and darkened pubs and restaurants.

And there are millions of people who are both fearful of this terrible disease, and at the same time also fearful of what this long period of enforced inactivity will do to their livelihoods and their mental and physical wellbeing.

To their futures and the futures of their children.

So I want to provide tonight – for you – the shape of a plan to address both fears.

Both to beat the virus and provide the first sketch of a road map for reopening society.

A sense of the way ahead, and when and how and on what basis we will take the decisions to proceed.

I will be setting out more details in Parliament tomorrow and taking questions from the public in the evening.

I have consulted across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK.

And though different parts of the country are experiencing the pandemic at different rates.

And though it is right to be flexible in our response.

I believe that as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, there is a strong resolve to defeat this together.

And today a general consensus on what we could do.

And I stress could.

Because although we have a plan, it is a conditional plan.

And since our priority is to protect the public and save lives, we cannot move forward unless we satisfy the five tests.

We must protect our NHS.

We must see sustained falls in the death rate.

We must see sustained and considerable falls in the rate of infection.

We must sort out our challenges in getting enough PPE to the people who need it, and yes, it is a global problem but we must fix it.

And last, 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.

And to chart our progress and to avoid going back to square one, 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.

And as we go everyone will have a role to play in keeping the R down.

By staying alert and following the rules.

And to keep pushing the number of infections down there are two more things we must do.

We must reverse rapidly the awful epidemics in care homes and in the NHS, and though the numbers are coming down sharply now, there is plainly much more to be done.

And if we are to control this virus, then we must have a world-beating system for testing potential victims, and for tracing their contacts.

So that – all told – we are testing literally hundreds of thousands of people every day.

We have made fast progress on testing – but there is so much more to do now, and we can.

When this began, we hadn’t seen this disease before, and we didn’t fully understand its effects.

With every day we are getting more and more data.

We are shining the light of science on this invisible killer, and we will pick it up where it strikes.

Because our new system will be able in time to detect local flare-ups – in your area – as well as giving us a national picture.

And yet when I look at where we are tonight, we have the R below one, between 0.5 and 0.9 – but potentially only just below one.

And though we have made progress in satisfying at least some of the conditions I have given.

We have by no means fulfilled all of them.

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.

We said that you should work from home if you can, and only go to work if you must.

We now need to stress that anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.

And we want it to be safe for you to get to work. So you should avoid public transport if at all possible – because we must and will maintain social distancing, and capacity will therefore be limited.

So work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from home.

And to ensure you are safe at work we have been working to establish new guidance for employers to make workplaces COVID-secure.

And when you do go to work, if possible do so by car or even better by walking or bicycle. But just as with workplaces, public transport operators will also be following COVID-secure standards.

And from this Wednesday, we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise.

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.

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.

And so every day, with ever increasing data, we will be monitoring the R and the number of new infections, and the progress we are making, and if we as a nation begin to fulfil the conditions I have set out, then in the next few weeks and months we may be able to go further.

In step two – at the earliest by June 1 – after half term – we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays. And we will shortly be setting out detailed guidance on how to make it work in schools and shops and on transport.

And step three – at the earliest by July – and subject to all these conditions and further scientific advice; if and only if the numbers support it, we will hope to re-open at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places, provided they are safe and enforce social distancing.

Throughout this period of the next two months we will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity. We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health.

And I must stress again that all of this is conditional, it all depends on a series of big Ifs. It depends on all of us – the entire country – to follow the advice, to observe social distancing, and to keep that R down.

And to prevent re-infection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time – with transmission significantly lower – to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air.

And it is because of your efforts to get the R down and the number of infections down here, that this measure will now be effective.

And of course we will be monitoring our progress locally, regionally, and nationally and if there are outbreaks, if there are problems, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes.

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.

And when I look at what you have done already.

The patience and common sense you have shown.

The fortitude of the elderly whose isolation we all want to end as fast as we can.

The incredible bravery and hard work of our NHS staff, our care workers.

The devotion and self-sacrifice of all those in every walk of life who are helping us to beat this disease.

Police, bus drivers, train drivers, pharmacists, supermarket workers, road hauliers, bin collectors, cleaners, security guards, postal workers, our teachers and a thousand more.

The scientists who are working round the clock to find a vaccine.

When I think of the millions of everyday acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that are being performed across this country.

And that have helped to get us through this first phase.

I know that we can use this plan to get us through the next.

And if we can’t do it by those dates, and if the alert level won’t allow it, we will simply wait and go on until we have got it right.

We will come back from this devilish illness.

We will come back to health, and robust health.

And though the UK will be changed by this experience, I believe we can be stronger and better than ever before. More resilient, more innovative, more economically dynamic, but also more generous and more sharing.

But for now we must stay alert, control the virus and save lives.

Thank you very much.