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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson eases social distancing rule in England; death toll rises by 171 UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson leads final daily briefing as social distancing rules eased in England
(32 minutes later)
No 10 scraps daily press conference after today; 2m rule stays in Scotland and Wales; English pubs, restaurants, hairdressers to open from 4 July No 10 scraps daily press conference after today; 2m rule stays in Scotland and Wales; UK death toll rises by 171
But some premises, like nightclubs, swimming pools and indoor gyms, have to remain closed, Johnson says.
He says guidelines will be produced to enable them to open in a Covid secure way later.
He says two households will be allowed to meet. They can stay overnight. But people should maintain social distancing, he says.
He says this will require people to act responsibly. But he is sure they will do this. The police will still be able to break up large gatherings, he says. But he says the police do not want to have to do this, and people do not want them to be doing this either, he says.
Johnson is now running through the list of places in England that will be allowed to open from 4 July.
See 4.14pm for a full list.
Johnson says he is now in a position to change the guidance.
He says the two-metre rule kept us safe when the disease was prevalent. Now we can move to one metre plus, he says. He says that means people should stay one metre apart, and use mitigations such as screens and masks.
He says guidance is being issued to businesses to allow them to take the steps that is right for them.
Here are the slides relating to the five tests presented by Johnson.
Boris Johnson starts with the slides.
The first relates to the five tests. He says they have provided the guide to easing lockdown.
Nick Stylianou from Sky News has some press conference statistics.
Boris Johnson is about to take what will now be the last of the UK government’s daily coronavirus press conferences. He will be with Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, its chief scientific adviser.
Scotland’s largest teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has said its still wants “an appropriate level of physical distancing between pupils and most certainly between pupils and staff” in schools, despite the Scottish government’s earlier announcement that pupils should prepare to return to school in August full time, without significant classroom distancing.
The EIS said that it still wants to see protective measures in schools “such as mandatory face coverings, protective perspex shields, proactive testing of teachers and an appropriate level of physical distancing”.
Meanwhile, GMB Scotland raised concerns that school support staff’s safety was being ignored, as Scottish education secretary John Swinney said that a “blended” system of at-home and in-school learning, to allow 2 metre distancing in classrooms, would remain a contingency plan.
GMB Scotland Organiser Helen Meldrum said: “An army of hidden, low-paid staff, and predominantly women, are being left to get on with it; like cleaners equipped with little more than a risk assessment form and a mop and bucket, or teaching assistants who don’t yet know their hours or how they can balance work and childcare.”
The National Education Union says, even with the 2-metre rule abandoned in favour of a one-metre rule, it is still sceptical about pupils in England being able to return safely to school in September. This is from its joint general secretary, Mary Bousted.
The full NEU statement is here.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has suggested that gyms could open some time next month, despite not being included in the government’s list of business that can operate from 4 July.Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has suggested that gyms could open some time next month, despite not being included in the government’s list of business that can operate from 4 July.
These are from Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, on her government’s decision to get pupils returning to school full time in August, instead of opting for the “blended learning” model. (See 3.50pm.)These are from Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, on her government’s decision to get pupils returning to school full time in August, instead of opting for the “blended learning” model. (See 3.50pm.)
From the Welsh governmentFrom the Welsh government
In a candid article on our website Alex Rushmer explains why he won’t be reopening his Cambridge restaurant on 4 July - despite what the PM announced this afternoon. Here’s an extract.In a candid article on our website Alex Rushmer explains why he won’t be reopening his Cambridge restaurant on 4 July - despite what the PM announced this afternoon. Here’s an extract.
From HuffPost’s Paul WaughFrom HuffPost’s Paul Waugh
Here is some business reaction to the PM’s announcement about the lockdown being eased in England.
From the CBI director general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn
From the Institute of Directors’ director of policy Edwin Morgan
From the British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall
Sky’s Sam Coates has a useful list of all the venues opening in England.
The Society of Independent Brewers has said that, although Boris Johnson’s announcement about pubs being allowed to open in England is welcome, the sector will need a lot more support. Its chief executive James Calder said:
Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse has dropped out of the race to lead her party, throwing her support behind fellow MP Layla Moran. You can read her statement here –
The UK has recorded a further 171 coronavirus deaths, according to the latest daily figures from the Department of Health and Social Care, taking the headline total to 42,927.
These figures only cover the deaths of people who have tested positive for coronavirus and died. The UK figure for all deaths caused by coronavirus is more than 54,000. See 10.24am.
PureGym, one of the UK’s largest operators with more than 1 million members, has said criticised the government for claiming to be “at war with obesity”, while also allowing restaurants and pubs to open before gyms.
In a statement, the company said:
The statement added that industry-agreed guidance on hygiene and social distancing was submitted to the government early in May and continued:
The TUC is saying firms should be legally required to publish their Covid-19 risk plans. Responding to the PM’s announcement, the TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said:
Scotland’s education secretary John Swinney has said that teachers should now prepare for pupils to return full time from August, with no social distancing in classrooms, after an avalanche of criticism of plans for a “blended learning” model which would have seen some children spending only one day a week in school.
The announcement comes amidst rising panic from parents, who had been contemplating indefinite home-schooling of their children as they heard from different local authorities that social distancing requirements would mean year groups spending limited time with their teachers and peers.
East Dunbartonshire, for example, was planning for one third of secondary year groups attending at any one time, while parents at Perth high school, one of the largest secondary schools in Perth and Kinross, were told that children in S2 and S3 would be expected to continue learning from home four days a week. Parents already juggling home-working and limited childcare available over the summer were increasingly vocal in their profound concerns last week.
But in a statement to the Holyrood parliament this afternoon – following a week of outcry from parents groups, Scotland’s childrens’ commissioner and opposition parties – Swinney changed tack, telling MSPs:
Describing it as “a change born out of hard work and sacrifice”, he added that blended learning would remain “a contingency that we may still need to enact”.
The National Caravan Council has welcomed Boris Johnson’s announcement. Its director, John Lally, said: