Coronavirus: Johnson to put Britain on path for limited easing

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a very limited easing of Britain’s coronavirus lockdown on Sunday.

Boris Johnson visits the RAF Chapel ay Westminster Abbey to start VE Day commemorations. Picture: Getty Images

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a very limited easing of Britain’s coronavirus lockdown on Sunday, adopting a cautious approach to try to ensure there is no second peak of infections that could further hurt the economy.

Mr Johnson is due to announce the next steps in Britain’s battle to tackle the coronavirus following a review by ministers of the measures that have all but shut the economy and kept millions at home for six weeks. “Any changes in the short term will be modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored,” Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said.

“If people don’t follow the rules or if we see that the R-level (the reproductive rate of the virus) goes back up, we will tighten the restrictions again.”

Mr Raab said the UK’s coronavirus-linked death toll had risen by 539 to 30,615.

The government has been criticised for moving too slowly to tackle the outbreak which has left the UK with the worst official death toll in Europe. Ministers have dismissed that charge, saying they took the right decisions at the right time.

But with an increasing number of anecdotal reports that more people are flouting the lockdown in anticipation of Sunday’s announcement and a public holiday on Friday, ministers are under pressure to make any new rules as clear as possible after being criticised for mixed messaging.

At a cabinet meeting, Mr Johnson stressed that Britain would advance “with maximum caution” and be guided by the science.

Officials suggest there will be a gradual move towards re-opening businesses. Ministers say that those operating outdoors might be able to find a way to work in the summer months but warn it is still too soon to re-open schools.

Reuters