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A “huge flash flood” of people returning to work is not expected after the release of the new coronavirus guide, Boris Johnson said.
The Prime Minister said the measures, which include encouraging people in England to return to work if they are safe, were “small steps.”
He also said that employers should sympathize with workers who do not have access to child care.
It came about when new rules said that people in England can soon meet a person from outside their home, from a distance.
Starting Wednesday, people can socialize in open spaces or play one-on-one sports, such as tennis with someone else, as long as they are kept 2 meters apart.
Johnson used Monday’s Downing Street daily briefing to clarify his return-to-work message, saying employers would have to demonstrate compliance with a new safety standard, dubbed “Safe Covid.”
He said: “I don’t think any of us expect that tomorrow or for the rest of this week there will be a huge flash flood of people going back to work.”
“I think a lot of people will start to think if they fall into that category, if they could think about going back to work.”
‘Spot inspections’
He told people in England that their workplaces “must be safe, must be safe for Covid, and employers will not be allowed to force people to work in conditions that are not safe for Covid.”
“Everyone must obey social distancing and we are going to have many more inspections by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), we will have random spot inspections to verify that companies are doing the right thing,” he said.
“If people are in conditions that they consider unsafe, they should report it immediately and we will take action, and that applies to all work.”
It occurs when 210 other people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of recorded deaths to 32,065.
After eight days of losing its goal of 100,000 tests per day, the government on Monday counted 100,490 tests on May 10.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, said at the Downing Street briefing that data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that approximately 136,000 people were currently infected with coronavirus in the UK.
He said the amount of time it can take for this number to halve is around two weeks at current infection rates.
Previously, the government released a new public guide, as well as a lengthy strategy paper, on the next steps in its response to the coronavirus in England.
The information includes new tips for people in England to use face covers while on public transport and in some stores.
It also sets out how, starting on Wednesday, people in England will be allowed to meet a person from outside their home as long as they remain outdoors and are kept 2 m apart.
Sage, the government’s group of scientific advisers, said the risk of infection abroad is significantly less than indoors, according to the strategy document.
Johnson told Parliament that the public should exercise “good and solid British common sense” to adapt their lives to the next phase of the coronavirus response.
But Johnson defended different approaches among the nations of the United Kingdom after leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said “stay home” messages remained in place there.
“For those who think that ‘alert’ is not the right message, I think it is absolutely the right message for our country now,” he said.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have delegated powers over their own blocking restrictions.
It comes when the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy released a new guide for UK employers on how to implement social distancing measures, with eight separate documents released for sectors that can now reopen.
The HSE received £ 14 million in funds for additional call center workers, inspectors and equipment.
The guide for employers says they could be sure of Covid by redesigning workplaces with 2-meter (6-foot) distances in mind, staggering start times, building one-way systems, and publishing detailed risk assessments.
The Trade Union Congress said the new guidelines were “a step in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer used an official response to the prime minister’s coronavirus speech on Sunday to urge more clarity and reassurance for workers and parents that returning to work and school would be safe.
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The new guide said the government’s ambition was for all primary school children in England to return to school for a month before summer. Child caregivers in England will also be able to care for children again.
A new guide released for elementary schools Monday night said class sizes should be limited to 15 and staggered pick-up and drop-off times when they can return.
When asked during the Downing Street briefing what people should do in the meantime if they don’t have access to childcare and can’t work from home, Johnson said he was sure employers would understand.
“If people do not have access to child care and have a child who has not returned to school, then I think it is only fair to consider that as an obvious barrier to their ability to return to work and I am sure that employers will agree with that, “he said.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom / Jessica Taylor
The Prime Minister told Parliament that the government’s “road map” would help control Covid-19
Meanwhile, the guide confirmed that garden centers may also reopen on Wednesday with established distancing measures.
The government is likely to continue advising people who are clinically extremely vulnerable to continue protecting themselves after June, the strategy document added.
The 60-page document also said:
- People in England can drive to any open air space in the country, but not to other UK nations whose rules must be respected
- Healthy people age 70 and older should take special care to minimize contact with others, even if the NHS has not advised them to protect
- Clothes should be washed regularly if people work with other people outside their home
- Doors and windows should be left open in places where people from different homes interact.
- A “rapid reengineering of government structures and institutions” is needed to deal with Covid-19
The fines for those who do not follow the rules in England will increase from £ 60 to £ 100 starting Wednesday, with total maximum fines for repeat offenders of £ 3,200.
Speaking about possible future steps, Johnson told parliamentarians that the government was exploring how to allow people to safely expand their home to include themselves “on a strictly reciprocal basis.”
The new guide also reflected the government’s three-step plan, announced by the prime minister on Sunday night.
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