UK to ease restrictions with new office guide



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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out his plan to ease the coronavirus blockade across the country next Sunday, according to media reports, as new guidelines emerged on how to maintain social distancing in the workplace.

Orders to stay home imposed in late March will be reviewed Thursday in Britain, one of the countries hardest hit in the Covid-19 pandemic, but the government has already said the measures will be gradually eased.

The new guide drawn up with company and union bosses, seen by the BBC and the Financial Times, suggests that office workers will be encouraged to stay home for months to avoid overwhelming the transportation system.

But where personnel must enter, companies are urged to stagger shifts, prevent people from sharing desks or stationery, step up hygiene measures, keep staff canteens closed, and restrict the number of people in elevators.

Workers in stores or bank branches dealing with customers should be protected with plastic screens, according to the recommendations, although there are no details on what type of protective equipment other employees may require.

Britons are currently told to stay home unless they need to work, buy essentials or exercise daily, but they must stay at least two meters away from other people.

Maintaining this social distancing while the economy restarts brings enormous problems.

“It will not work in aviation or any other form of public transport, and the problem is not the plane, it is the lack of space at the airport,” said London Heathrow airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye.

“Only a jumbo jet would require a kilometer-long tail,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

A total of 28,446 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 in Britain, almost on par with Italy, the worst affected country in Europe.

Johnson cautioned that lifting the blocking restrictions too soon would be “the worst thing we could do.”

In a video message on Twitter, the Prime Minister said it was important to comply with the five tests established by the Government before facilitating the blockade.

“We can only move to the second phase of this conflict if our five tests are met,” he said.



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