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Boris Johnson will reveal more details about his plans to reopen the society in England, after revealing the “first outline” of his “road map” of the coronavirus blockade.
The Prime Minister will answer questions from parliamentarians and the public on Monday, while Issue 10 will publish his official 50-page orientation in Parliament.
Labor’s Sir Keir Starmer criticized the prime minister’s plan for lack of clarity.
It occurs when Scotland and Wales rejected the new “stay alert” catchphrase of No. 10.
In Sunday’s televised address to the nation, Johnson announced a “conditional plan” to reopen society, allowing people in England to spend more time outdoors since Wednesday.
The prime minister also said that people who were unable to work from home, including those in the manufacturing and construction industries, should return to the workplace starting Monday but avoid public transportation.
Johnson said the government would “modify” the blockade measures during three “careful” steps until July.
A new five-tier Covid alert system would influence how quickly the lock could be changed, which was first announced on March 23.
The first step will allow people to do unlimited amounts of exercise outdoors, sit or sunbathe in the parks, and play sports with household members starting Wednesday.
The changes in the guidelines will also allow two people from different households to meet in a park if they are kept two meters away.
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AFP
He hoped that with the second step, “at the earliest by June 1,” there could be a gradual reopening of stores and some elementary students could return to school.
The third step could see some hospitality companies and other public places reopen, “if the figures support it,” but not before July 1.
The prime minister stressed that all this was “conditional” on a series of “big” and would not hesitate to “stop” if there are more outbreaks of the virus.
Johnson plans to file a statement with parliament on Monday, and more information is expected on a Covid-19 alert system, the use of face masks and the return of professional football.
But Sir Keir said Johnson’s speech raised “as many questions as answers.”
“Trying to achieve the impossible”
The Prime Minister is effectively trying to achieve the impossible. You want to try to restart normal life, while keeping the virus at bay with limited means to do so.
Without a vaccine, the government depends on containing any local outbreak.
But the problem is that even with the additional tests that have been implemented in the past month, there are big holes in the UK’s ability to suppress the virus. It takes too long to retrieve test results, several days in some cases, and those who need regular tests the most, such as home care staff, for example, still report that they cannot always access the tests.
Our ability to track close contacts of infected people remains unknown: the system pilot, involving the use of an app and an army of contact trackers, has just started on the Isle of Wight. It means that we are effectively fighting this “invisible assassin” with one hand behind our back.
We are not alone in the fight, other countries face similar problems. But we are still a little behind the best prepared and equipped, such as Germany and South Korea.
Labor Alternative Business Secretary Ed Miliband and Shadow Employment Rights Minister Andy McDonald said they were “deeply concerned” by the recommendation that people who cannot work from home should return to work.
In a letter to Business Secretary Alok Sharma, they said urging staff to return to work 12 hours in advance and without guidance on how they could be kept safe was “irresponsible and wrong.”
They asked the government to publish its guide and make sure it addressed measures such as safe social distancing in the workplace and mandatory Covid-19 risk assessments.
‘Stay at home’
Johnson said he had consulted “across the political spectrum, across the four nations of the UK” and that his plan was a “general consensus on what we could do.”
But the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who have their own powers over the blockade measures, have refused to adopt England’s new message “stay alert, control the virus, save lives.”
The Welsh health minister said there had been no “four-nation agreement” on the new “stay alert” message and that the “stay home” advice in Wales had not changed.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there should be a “simpler” message and stressed that the motto “stay home” would continue to apply in Scotland.
The Northern Ireland Executive said it would “consider its plan for a gradual, strategic approach to recovery” at a meeting on Monday, with politicians emphasizing the “stay home” message ahead of Johnson’s speech on Monday.
Some union leaders and business groups have criticized the plans and called for more clarity.
The National Education Union (NEU) said the idea that some schools could reopen from June 1 was “nothing short of reckless” as the infection rate remains “too big.”
Meanwhile, TUC secretary-general Frances O’Grady said the prime minister’s statement would cause workers “a lot of confusion and anxiety,” and urged No. 10 to provide “clear instructions” to staff and employers in form of new “hard” security rules.
The British Chambers of Commerce said the companies needed “practical answers to their questions in order to plan to restart, rebuild and renew.”
It occurs when 269 other people have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of recorded deaths to 31,855.
The government did not meet its goal of 100,000 tests per day for the eighth consecutive day, with 92,837 tests on Saturday.
In other developments:
- John Apter, national president of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said the prime minister’s plans risk being a set of “loose rules that are left open to interpretation” and difficult to enforce.
- More details are expected on the government’s plans to impose a 14-day quarantine on people flying to the UK, which the prime minister said yesterday would not apply between France and the UK “at this stage.”
- The government is expected to announce Monday that some elite athletes may begin an initial phase of restricted group training later this week.
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The Attorney General has indicated that there may be changes to the closing rules that have led to the cancellation of weddings due to the coronavirus.
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AFP
