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The government’s previous position was that people should only go to work “if necessary,” Johnson said. “We must now emphasize that anyone who cannot work from home, for example, those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.”
Also starting Wednesday, people in the UK will be able to sunbathe at their local parks, exercise as much as they like and drive to other destinations, he said.
In a prerecorded televised statement Sunday night, Johnson revealed a roadmap to resume activity in the country after more than six weeks under lockdown. He characterized his plan as a prudent balance between keeping new infections low and at the same time easing the economic burden the pandemic has had on millions in the UK.
Until Johnson’s announcement, residents whose jobs were considered nonessential were advised to leave home only to exercise once a day locally and buy food or medicine.
“Starting this Wednesday, we want to encourage people to do more and even unlimited amounts of exercise outdoors,” he said, adding that social distancing measures would remain in place.
“You can sit in the sun at your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own home.”
Johnson announced several other new measures:
- People returning to work should avoid public transportation whenever possible.
- Quarantining people entering the country by air would take effect “soon”.
- A biosecurity center will employ a new five-level alert system, like the one the UK uses for terrorist threats.
- The advice and motto “Stay home” to save lives is now “Stay alert”.
- Elementary schools could open from June 1, but that is the best case scenario.
- More stores and the hotel sector could reopen in July, depending on the circumstances.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labor party, said Johnson’s statement lacked the clarity the nation was seeking.
“The basic message, staying alert, is simply not clear enough and the Prime Minister’s statement raises as many questions as it does answers,” he told the BBC.
“I think there are real problems here. Basically, those who can’t work at home are told to go to work tomorrow. That’s millions of people and that means going to work in about 12 hours, mixed with the message that if It is possible to do it, don’t use public transport, that’s a very good thing for people tomorrow morning. “
Lack of unity across the country
New messages and advice from the government have also put him at odds with the UK’s three smallest nations.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland extended their blockades to May 28, and officials from the three nations said there had been no coordination between their governments and Downing Street over the new message, and that they would continue to spread the “stay home” message. among its our people.
“I asked the UK government not to roll out its ‘Stay Alert’ advertising campaign in Scotland, because the message at this stage in Scotland is … except for the essential reasons you know of, staying home,” Sturgeon said on Sunday.
“We should not squander our progress by slowing down too soon, or sending mixed messages that make people think it is okay to do it now. Let me be very direct about the consequences if we did that: people will die unnecessarily.” We should not take that risk, “he added.
In his speech, Johnson tried to present the plan as one with the backing of the kingdom’s four nations, saying he had “consulted across the political spectrum, across the four nations of the United Kingdom.”
“I think that as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland – there is a strong determination to defeat this together and today, a general consensus on what we could do,” he said.
Johnson is expected to provide further details of his roadmap in parliament on Monday, where he will no doubt face tough questions from MPs about his messages to the public.
It is not the first time that the UK government has been criticized for its communications during the pandemic. Johnson telegraphed earlier this week that he expected some changes to the country’s closure to announce that Sunday would take effect as soon as Monday.
His lack of details on what measures could be relaxed sparked a wave of speculation in the British media.
Suggestions that Monday will bring new freedoms seem to have emboldened people in London: Hundreds were photographed in parks basking in the sun and picnicking as sunny weather tempted them to break closing rules over the weekend. Police said they were forced to disperse groups by drinking beer and wine, and sharing pizza.
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