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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/apr/27/uk-coronavirus-live-news-boris-johnson-back-at-work-amid-talk-of-easing-lockdown
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| UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson says too early to ease lockdown as second peak would be disaster | UK coronavirus live news: Boris Johnson says too early to ease lockdown as second peak would be disaster |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirus | Prime minister makes first public statement since recovering from coronavirus |
| The full text of Boris Johnson’s speech is now here, on the No 10 website. | |
| Here is the key extract from Boris Johnson’s speech. It sums up his message; although he understands why people want to relax the lockdown, now would be too soon, he says. | Here is the key extract from Boris Johnson’s speech. It sums up his message; although he understands why people want to relax the lockdown, now would be too soon, he says. |
| (For the sake of speed, I am posting this verbatim from the No 10 transcript. As you can see, despite being one of the best-paid newspaper columnists in the UK before becoming PM, Johnson does not seem to have mastered punctuation.) | (For the sake of speed, I am posting this verbatim from the No 10 transcript. As you can see, despite being one of the best-paid newspaper columnists in the UK before becoming PM, Johnson does not seem to have mastered punctuation.) |
| He said: | He said: |
| Some uplifting news now. Captain Tom Moore, the 99-year-old who has raised more than £29m for the NHS by walking laps of his garden, is to be honoured with a postmark. | Some uplifting news now. Captain Tom Moore, the 99-year-old who has raised more than £29m for the NHS by walking laps of his garden, is to be honoured with a postmark. |
| Royal Mail will stamp all letters sent between today and Friday with a message to celebrate the world war two veteran’s 100th birthday. | Royal Mail will stamp all letters sent between today and Friday with a message to celebrate the world war two veteran’s 100th birthday. |
| Post will be marked with: “Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020.” | Post will be marked with: “Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020.” |
| Moore, from Bedfordshire, has extended his challenge to completing 200 laps of his 25m-long garden after finishing the first 100 laps ahead of schedule. | Moore, from Bedfordshire, has extended his challenge to completing 200 laps of his 25m-long garden after finishing the first 100 laps ahead of schedule. |
| On Friday, he became the oldest person ever to top the UK singles charts after his duet with Michael Ball went to number one. | On Friday, he became the oldest person ever to top the UK singles charts after his duet with Michael Ball went to number one. |
| Their cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone has sold more than 82,000 copies, with proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together Fund. | Their cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone has sold more than 82,000 copies, with proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together Fund. |
| An urgent alert issued to doctors has raised concerns that a serious coronavirus-related syndrome may be emerging in children in the UK.The alert states that in the past three weeks there has been a rise in children being admitted to hospital with a syndrome that has the characteristics of serious Covid-19, according to the Health Service Journal. Children have so far been deemed to be at low risk of serious ill health from the virus. | An urgent alert issued to doctors has raised concerns that a serious coronavirus-related syndrome may be emerging in children in the UK.The alert states that in the past three weeks there has been a rise in children being admitted to hospital with a syndrome that has the characteristics of serious Covid-19, according to the Health Service Journal. Children have so far been deemed to be at low risk of serious ill health from the virus. |
| The alert states:“[In the] last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK.“There is a growing concern that a [Covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.” | The alert states:“[In the] last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK.“There is a growing concern that a [Covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.” |
| There is little information about how widespread the condition is but the number of children affected is likely to be small, the HSJ reports. Some of the children have tested positive for Covid-19, and some appear to have previously had the virus, it adds.The alert, first issued to GPs in north London, also describes the cases as showing features of toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which causes blood vessels to become inflamed. It advised doctors to “refer children presenting with these symptoms as a matter of urgency”.The Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued a separate “urgent alert” on Sunday evening. | There is little information about how widespread the condition is but the number of children affected is likely to be small, the HSJ reports. Some of the children have tested positive for Covid-19, and some appear to have previously had the virus, it adds.The alert, first issued to GPs in north London, also describes the cases as showing features of toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which causes blood vessels to become inflamed. It advised doctors to “refer children presenting with these symptoms as a matter of urgency”.The Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued a separate “urgent alert” on Sunday evening. |
| Last week, doctors at the Children’s National hospital in Washington DC said they had seen significant numbers of children admitted with coronavirus, with more than a quarter of them requiring admission, including critical care. | Last week, doctors at the Children’s National hospital in Washington DC said they had seen significant numbers of children admitted with coronavirus, with more than a quarter of them requiring admission, including critical care. |
| Here is our colleague Kate Proctor’s story about Boris Johnson’s speech. | Here is our colleague Kate Proctor’s story about Boris Johnson’s speech. |
| And this is how it starts. | And this is how it starts. |
| Here is some reaction to Boris Johnson’s speech from journalists and commentators on Twitter. | Here is some reaction to Boris Johnson’s speech from journalists and commentators on Twitter. |
| From Piers Morgan, the Good Morning Britain presenter | From Piers Morgan, the Good Morning Britain presenter |
| From the BBC’s Nick Robinson | From the BBC’s Nick Robinson |
| From Good Morning Britain’s Anne Alexander | From Good Morning Britain’s Anne Alexander |
| From Michael White, the Guardian’s former political editor | From Michael White, the Guardian’s former political editor |
| From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh | From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh |
| From our colleague Owen Jones | From our colleague Owen Jones |
| From the Times’s Matt Chorley | From the Times’s Matt Chorley |
| Johnson says the government should only ease up on the lockdown when it is confident there will be no second peak. | Johnson says the government should only ease up on the lockdown when it is confident there will be no second peak. |
| He says he wants “maximum transparency” about how the decisions to relax restrictions are taken. | He says he wants “maximum transparency” about how the decisions to relax restrictions are taken. |
| He says he wants to involve the opposition parties as much as possible. | He says he wants to involve the opposition parties as much as possible. |
| He says measures are in place to win “phase two”, just as the UK is winning phase one. | He says measures are in place to win “phase two”, just as the UK is winning phase one. |
| He says if the UK can show the same sense of optimism shown by Capt Tom Moore, we will come through this. | He says if the UK can show the same sense of optimism shown by Capt Tom Moore, we will come through this. |
| And that’s it. He has finished. | And that’s it. He has finished. |
| We will post a full transcript, and analysis, shortly. | We will post a full transcript, and analysis, shortly. |
| Johnson says the progress being made against the virus is why people might be tempted to ease up now. | Johnson says the progress being made against the virus is why people might be tempted to ease up now. |
| But now is not the moment, he says. | But now is not the moment, he says. |
| He says he understands the worries of shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, and everyone in business. | He says he understands the worries of shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, and everyone in business. |
| He knows why they think that, without an economy, there will be no way of funding the NHS. | He knows why they think that, without an economy, there will be no way of funding the NHS. |
| He says he shares their urgency. | He says he shares their urgency. |
| That would risk a “disaster”, he says. | That would risk a “disaster”, he says. |
| He says that would cause lasting damage to the economy. | He says that would cause lasting damage to the economy. |
| And so he refuses to throw that away, he says. | And so he refuses to throw that away, he says. |
| Johnson says the country is making progress. | Johnson says the country is making progress. |
| There are real signs we are “passing through the peak”, he says. | There are real signs we are “passing through the peak”, he says. |
| He says the UK has stopped the NHS being overwhelmed. | He says the UK has stopped the NHS being overwhelmed. |
| He says that is why he can say we are beginning to turn the tide. | He says that is why he can say we are beginning to turn the tide. |
| He says if the virus is a mugger - and he can say from personal experience it is - this is the moment when we are beginning to wrestle it to the floor. | He says if the virus is a mugger - and he can say from personal experience it is - this is the moment when we are beginning to wrestle it to the floor. |
| Boris Johnson starts by saying he is sorry to have been away from his desk for longer than he wanted. | Boris Johnson starts by saying he is sorry to have been away from his desk for longer than he wanted. |
| He thanks Dominic Raab for stepping up. | He thanks Dominic Raab for stepping up. |
| But he wants to thank the public, he says. | But he wants to thank the public, he says. |
| He says this is the biggest challenge the country has faced since the war. | He says this is the biggest challenge the country has faced since the war. |
| A lectern has been set up outside the door to No 10. | A lectern has been set up outside the door to No 10. |