Boris Johnson is forced to defend the blocking slogan of ‘stay home’

Boris Johnson was forced to defend his ‘exit plan’ even before it was fully revealed today amid a backlash by dropping the powerful slogan ‘stay home, protect the NHS, save lives’.

Before his address to the nation at 7 p.m., the prime minister turned to Twitter to clarify the new advice, as Nicola Sturgeon condemned abandoning the mantra that has brought the country to an effective standstill since March 23.

The Prime Minister said she had not been informed of the change and insisted that the simple guide would remain in force in Scotland, whatever the Prime Minister says. Wales and Northern Ireland also indicated that they will continue to tell people to stay home.

At a briefing in Edinburgh after attending Cobra this afternoon, Sturgeon warned that ‘people will die unnecessarily’ if progress against the disease is ‘squandered’ by relieving themselves too soon or by sending mixed messages that make people think they are Okay ease up now. ‘

In the face of anger, Johnson released a more complete version explaining that people are still urged to ‘stay home where possible’ and ‘stay alert’ when they leave.

Meanwhile, some high-ranking ministers are angry that parts of Johnson’s speech were prerecorded, before the entire cabinet and Cobra considered the issues today. Government sources insisted that other elements will be filmed after the measures have been considered.

Previously, the prime minister tried to downplay the expectations of his statement, telling the Sun on Sunday that mountaineers know that descending from the top is “the most dangerous part” as it is easy to “run too fast, lose control and stumble. ” .

The first steps to alleviate bottlenecks strangling the economy will be very tentative, after ministers were told that 18,000 new infections are still reported every day, well above the 4,000 goal for a large-scale loosening. Scientists have warned that 100,000 Britons could die by the end of the year if they make a mistake.

A five-stage DefCon-style system will be introduced to describe the country’s outbreak condition, with the UK currently in the second most serious of four ratings, meaning that most of the blockade must be maintained.

As evidence increasingly suggests that the virus spreads much less easily outdoors, the once-daily limit for exercising outdoors will be reduced.

The focus will also focus on starting businesses when possible, with a detailed guide for companies on how they should operate, and garden centers will be able to open from Wednesday, where “ social distancing ” rules can be established. two meters. Travelers and shoppers could be urged to cover their faces, as has already happened in Scotland.

Failure to comply with the more nuanced rules could be imposed with more severe fines, amid police complaints that enforcement has so far been unconvincing. Plans are being drawn up to use ‘peer pressure’ to get people to isolate themselves, as those who test positive will be asked to contact anyone they’ve infected.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News this morning that the announcements will be “cautious” and that there will be no “grand reopening” of the economy, but the prime minister will present a plan that “encourages people to go to to work”. He insisted that “staying home” will continue to be an important part of the government’s approach, and suggested that controls could be targeted to specific neighborhoods in the future.

On another crucial day in the all-consuming crisis:

• Britain has suffered another 205 deaths, the lowest number in more than six weeks since March 26;
• The new ‘stay alert’ guide has been designed with green borders, a striking contrast to the red color scheme for the ‘stay at home’ version;
• Johnson is expected to confirm that garden centers will be able to open as of Wednesday and will issue guidelines for working safer in offices, but tougher fines of up to £ 3,000 for non-compliance with the rules;
• Airports and travel companies reacted furiously to plans to impose a two-week quarantine on anyone arriving in the country, including UK citizens returning from vacation;
• The death toll in the UK increased by 346 to 31,587, including more than 200 health workers. Globally there have been almost 4 million cases with more than 276,000 lives lost so far;
• The ministers expressed suspicions that political opponents and union tycoons were colluding to block the reopening of schools until wage demands were met, in a group they described as “The Blob”;
• A survey found that the British believe that the government has handled the crisis worse than other important countries, apart from the United States;
• Jenrick revealed that 40 percent of Isle of Wight residents, about 50,000 people, have downloaded the NHS coronavirus tracking app in the first week;
• Statistical professor David Speigelhalter has called the use of government figures “shameful,” saying the test numbers were misrepresented and the public was not treated with “respect.”

Johnson has tried to minimize expectations for the speech, telling the Sun on Sunday that the “descent” from a mountain was always the most risky.

“That’s when you are likely to be overconfident and make mistakes,” he said.

“You have very few options to climb, but on the descent you have to make sure you don’t run too fast, lose control and stumble.”

He tweeted a picture of the full board this afternoon, saying: ‘Everyone has a role to play in helping to control the virus by staying alert and following the rules. This is how we can continue to save lives as we begin to recover from the coronavirus. ‘

The full guide says: ‘We can help control the virus if we all stay alert: by staying home as long as possible; working from home if you can; limiting contact with other people; keeping the distance if you go out (2 meters away when possible); washing your hands regularly. ”

But the updated catchphrase has already drawn a backlash for being too soft to protect against a deadly and highly contagious disease.

Sturgeon, who will attend a Cobra meeting this afternoon to discuss the situation, previously warned that leaving the advice clear and simple will be “potentially catastrophic.”

This morning he tweeted that he had not yet been formally told that the Prime Minister was changing the mantra. “Of course, he must decide what is best for England, but given the critical point we are at to combat the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage,” he said.

She intentionally added: ‘STAY AT HOME. PROTECT THE NHS. SAVE LIVES. ‘

Union leaders have also threatened members not to return to work unless it is safe to do so, while many Labor figures have criticized the government for its policy change.

Jenrick ignored criticism that the message is confusing and said: “Staying alert will mean staying alert by staying home as much as possible.”

“ But be alert when you go out by maintaining social distance, washing your hands, respecting others in the workplace and the other environments you will go to, ” Andrew Marr Show told the BBC.

Jenrick told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the time was right to “update and expand” the message to the public.

“I think that is what the public wants and that they will be able to understand this message, which is that we should stay home as much as possible, but when we go to work and take care of our businesses, we must remain vigilant, I need to be alert”, said.

“And that means things like respecting others, staying two meters away, washing your hands, following the guidelines of social distancing because the virus is still frequent, many people still die from this and we will have to live with it” . for a long time.’

Pressed if there is a danger that the message is too woolly, Jenrick said: ‘Well, I hope not. “We need to have a broader message because we want to slowly and cautiously restart the economy and the country.”

Jenrick continued: ‘We are not going to take risks with the public. I understand that people are eager for the future, but now we want to have a message that encourages people to go to work.

“Staying home will continue to be an important part of the message, but you will be able to go to work and, over time, you will be able to do other activities that you cannot do today.”

Jenrick said the measures could be strengthened or relaxed locally to control the virus.

“ The evidence behind this may also inform what we do locally and if we see outbreaks in particular localities, neighborhoods, schools, towns, then we will be able to take particular action in those places as we build a more sophisticated and longer-term response. to control the virus. ”

Early last week there were indications that the government was preparing important measures to ease the blockade.

However, ambitions have been lowered, and Johnson, his top ministers, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak and Matt Hancock, have rejected a limited strategy on Wednesday night, fearing that the country’s infection rate still too high.

The actual number is reported to be around 14,000 people per day, while the government target is around 4,000, according to the Sunday Times.

It has emerged that the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) received warnings that there could be 100,000 deaths by the end of the year if the measures are relaxed too quickly.

A study by experts from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and College London modeled different approaches to “assess which were viable and which were not” and reportedly concluded that there was “very limited leeway”.

Policies such as allowing more than one household to blend into social “bubbles” and reopening schools for more students have been suspended.

“The opinion is that the public will forgive us for the mistakes made when entering the closure, but it will not forgive us for the mistakes made when leaving the closure,” an official told the Sunday Times.

Evidence of ‘coronaphobia’ among the public will have played a role in the decisions, with a poll for the Sun on Sunday showing that 90 percent of Britons oppose lifting restrictions this week.

Still, the adjustments Mr. Johnson will unveil will cause divisions in the UK approach, and each nation will have delegated powers.

Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford made clear his concerns about the “stay home” slogan that was dropped this morning. He said he would be telling people in the principality that ‘if you are not away from home for an essential purpose … staying home is still the best way to protect yourself and others.’

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said she “had no idea” what the new guide meant.

“That is not a change that we would agree with. I think the Prime Minister was very clear last week that the “stay home” message was the right message and, if I am completely frank, I have no idea what “being alert” means, he told the BBC on Sunday. Scotland politics.

She added: “We are asking the public to do a lot here and the least we can do is be consistent and clear in the message we send and staying home is the right message.”

Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (Nervtag), told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that the Prime Minister must be “incredibly cautious”.

“We have to be clear that this is not like a storm in which we open the hatches and then it passes and we go out into the sunlight and it is gone,” he said.

It’s still out there. Most of us have not had this virus. So, if we make a mistake, it will increase rapidly in the entire population and we will be in a crisis situation again. Therefore, we must be extremely cautious in relaxing the measures. “

Johnson will also announce a five-level warning system, administered by a Joint Biosecurity Center, to monitor virus risk across the country and encourage public adherence to the new measures.

Alerts range from Level One (green) to Level Five (red), with Britain currently at Level Four.

It will be managed by a Joint Biosecurity Center, which will be responsible for detecting local Covid-19 spikes so that ministers can increase restrictions when necessary to help reduce infection rates.

Andy Burnham, the Labor mayor of Greater Manchester, tweeted that “I find it a mistake to drop the clear message of staying home.”

Dave Ward, secretary general of the Communication Workers Union, said: ‘The messages from this Government throughout this crisis have been a total joke, but its new catchphrase takes it to a new level. Stay alert? It is a deadly virus, not a zebra crossing.

However, there was praise for the new message from the Bruges Group expert group. He tweeted: ‘The new government slogan is good.

‘Green replaces red for a calmer feeling. ‘Stay Alert’ replaces ‘Stay Home’ and underlines individual responsibility. ‘Control the virus’ is a positive message.

“It is within our power to do so.”

Johnson is expected to announce tomorrow that England is about to move to Level Three from its Level Four rating, in a sign that there is no significant increase in the rate of Covid-19 infection.

A 10th source said Johnson, who is facing increasing calls from conservative MPs to pull Britain out of a severe economic recession, is “proceeding with the utmost caution and maximum conditionality.”

The government’s roadmap to pull the country out of the shutdown will be published tomorrow in a 50-page document. It is understood that parliamentarians will be informed about the so-called ‘exit strategy’.

The prime minister is also expected to say that social distancing rules will save livelihoods and lives. The change in messages reflects concern that Britain is facing an economic downturn that has not been felt in 300 years.

His transmission will be his second national address for the crisis, and the first since he was hospitalized. In advance of his televised speech, he will preside over a Cobra meeting with leaders of delegate administrations and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The change in messages comes as the united front of the Johnson government breaks under pressure to manage the coronavirus crisis, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock now at odds with Prime Minister Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Hancock urged the prime minister to “give me a break” in a raid that raises questions about the future of the minister’s cabinet.

Hancock’s spokesman said the ministers were “furious” about the bug with the glasses, which they said had been ordered by Labor in 2009.

A source in the Health Department called them ‘Gordon glasses’ and added that they were purchased against the 2001 protection standards that were replaced at the time they were purchased. “Even a decade later, we still have to clear up the mess at work,” they added.

The latest PPE fiasco will be detrimental to the Health Secretary, days after it became known that surgical gowns ordered from Turkey and shipped to the UK amid heavy fanfare did not meet British safety standards.

A source said tensions had increased in the run-up to the deadline to reach 100.00 tests per target day, but said “the prime minister was highly praised for his performance.”

A source No. 10 said: “This is a critical time, so, after carefully evaluating the evidence, the Prime Minister will call for resolution from the public as we continue to do whatever it takes to defeat this devastating virus.”

Yesterday, Johnson pleaded with the British public to stay indoors for the final days of the shutdown.

On Twitter, the Prime Minister told his followers: ‘Thank you for all you are doing to protect our NHS and save lives. This holiday weekend, stay home so we don’t undo everything we’ve done so far.

However, people still sneaked into the nation’s beauty spots for holiday sunbathing, including the Prime Minister who strolled through St James’s Park this morning, where he was approached by a passerby beating him with the fingers.

Existing allegations that the government has been sending mixed messages were compounded after a series of reports that it is preparing to get rid of its “stay home” slogan in Sunday’s broadcast.

Also, casting a cloud of confusion, a second tweet from the official Downing Street account said: ‘If you’re going to leave the house this weekend, you should stay two meters away from the others.’

Johnson was photographed drinking a reusable Costa coffee cup on his daily walk in the park.

As he marched to work, Mr. Johnson confronted a man who appeared, giving him a bit of his mind, pointing a finger at the startled PM as a smiling woman watched. It is unclear what the man said, and MailOnline has reached number 10 for comment.

Thousands of Britons joined Johnson in attacking the country’s green spaces, but unlike the Prime Minister, some were photographed in groups sunbathing on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Brighton police stopped cars on the A23 to keep sun-loving covidiots from drifting off the coast, and locals cheered as tourists were turned away.

And the Coast Guard said it had the highest number of calls on Friday since the blockade began, with 97 incidents, 54% more than the average of 63 the previous month.

Although non-compliance with the rules indicates compliance with the blockade is frayed, Johnson told the Cabinet that he will proceed with “utmost caution” to avoid a second wave of fatal infections.

Transportation unions have threatened to derail any movement to get many people back on trains and buses, as bosses have said they “will not compromise the health, safety and livelihoods of our members.”

Teachers unions have issued a similar warning regarding the gradual return of schools.

Ministers have been urging the UK to abide by social distancing rules this weekend despite the sunny weather and waiting for the prime minister to present his plan tomorrow. Mr. Johnson tweeted, ‘Thank you for all you are doing to protect our NHS and save lives. This holiday weekend, stay home so we don’t undo everything that’s been done so far.

The prime minister also acknowledged the tension that the confinement has put on people’s mental health, since he said that “it has been a difficult time for many.” He told anyone struggling that “help is available.”

Ministers are believed to want to start sending elementary students to classrooms in June. However, unions have said they will not sign the plans until a test-and-trace system is fully operational.

The return of schools and childcare will be key to restoring much of the economy because many workers with children will not be able to return to work until the educational settings are operational.

Police attacked ‘lackluster’ government shutdown messages after sun worshipers fill parks and beaches on ‘hottest day of the year so far’

The police lashed out today against the application of social distancing rules after worshiping the sun and the ‘covidiots’ filled parks and beaches on the hottest day of the year so far.

The Metropolitan Police Federation (MPF) complained that the government is sending conflicting messages after people enjoyed the sun yesterday, when temperatures reached 26 ° C (78.8 ° F) on the south coast, so it does hotter than Ibiza and St Tropez.

President Ken Marsh told BBC Radio 4 that the authorities “needed to be firmer from the start.”

He said: ‘It has been quite weak how we have done it.

“If we had been very strict from the beginning, it is painful, but it is not too painful in terms of what you are really asked to do, so I think we would have a better result now.”

Hundreds flocked to London Fields, where Hackney police said they were powerless to prevent those who enjoyed the sun from drinking and eating pizza.

In scenes replicated across the country, the Coast Guard said it had the most calls on Friday since the blockade began, with 97 incidents, 54 percent more than the average of 63 for the month.

Traffic police in Brighton were stopping cars at the end of the A23, which leads to the coastal mecca on the south coast, and officials have fined visitors for trying to visit during the bank holiday.

Hackney Police tweeted a photo of London Fields and added: ‘Unfortunately, today we are waging a losing battle in the parks. Literally hundreds of people sitting around taking pizza, beer, wine.

“As always, many thanks to those who observe the guidelines.”

Health officials said they fear the British are beginning to be complacent about the Covid-19 blockade after traffic and mobile phone data revealed that more people are on the roads and looking for directions.

Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said on Saturday that “there was a bit of concern” after the unusually hot weather drew large crowds to public spaces.