This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/jun/23/uk-coronavirus-live-latest-news-updates-pubs-restaurants-cinemas-and-museums
The article has changed 23 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 16 | Version 17 |
|---|---|
| UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson leads final daily briefing as social distancing rules eased in England | 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; UK death toll rises by 171 | No 10 scraps daily press conference after today; 2m rule stays in Scotland and Wales; UK death toll rises by 171 |
| Vallance says the package of measures is reasonable. | |
| If there are outbreaks, you need to address them, he says. | |
| Measuring and monitoring will become an important part of this, he says. | |
| Johnson says he can’t wait to go to a pub or restaurants. He wants to see people going out, “bustle and activity”. | |
| But he also wants to see people staying alert and following the guidance. | |
| Q: [From Sky’s Sam Coates] Why are the devolved administrations not following you? Are they just glumbuckets? Or are not convinced by the science? | |
| Johnson claims he has been even-handed in how he has set this out. He has stressed the need to be cautious, he says. He has emphasised the mitigations. | |
| All four chief medical officers agreed the change in the alert level from four to three, he says. | |
| He says there is far more “harmony” between the four nations than people assume. | |
| Q: [To Whitty and Vallance] Do you support the whole package? Did Sage fully approve the whole package of changes? | |
| Vallance says two metres is safer than one metre if it is unmitigated. | |
| But, if you add mitigations, one metre can be equivalent risk to two metres, he says. | |
| He says Sage is not a decision-making bodies. It gives advice to all four nations. | |
| Whitty says, if people do not take the mitigation seriously, if they just hear a distorted version of the advice, “yes, we will get an uptick for sure”. | |
| As for whether he is comfortable, he says this is a balance of risk. It is a reasonable balance of risk. But it is not risk-free, he says. | |
| He says it is the job of advisers to give advice. | |
| And he says he has worked in lockstep with his fellow chief medical officers. It is perfectly reasonable for different nations to take different approaches, he says. | |
| But he says it would be wrong not to accept that there is a “shared underpinning” to what is happening. | |
| Johnson says this package should be positive for business, because it combines reopening with caution. | |
| Whitty says we will be living with this virus for a very long time. | |
| In the winter measures might have to be reintroduced, he says. | |
| But, over time, the medicine available may change. And our understanding of what counter-measures work may change, he says. | |
| “It is going to be a long haul,” he says. | |
| Vallance says it is “extremely unlikely” that the virus will burn itself out and disappear. | |
| He says a vaccine might appear. You can be “moderately optimistic” that one of the many vaccine projects might work. | |
| And treatments may become available, he says. He says he hopes this will become a manageable disease. | |
| Q: [From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg] You are taking a risk. Will you take responsibility if it goes wrong? | |
| Johnson says he wants to stress the need to be cautious. | |
| Yes, of course he takes responsibility for these decisions, he says. | |
| Q: [To Whitty] You said the two-metre rule should stay. Have you changed your mind? | |
| Whitty says that was an answer at one of these press conferences when he probably went further than planned. But the advice on two metres remains, he says. He says the one metre plus rule is for when two metres is not possible. | |
| Q: Why is there a problem with meat processing factories? | |
| Vallance says the meat itself does not produce a risk. | |
| But the environment is a difficult one. It is cold, which the virus likes. And it is loud; people might be shouting. And workers might be close together. | |
| Whitty says it is often the social environment around work that poses the risk. | |
| The first question is from Suzanne, a member of the public. When will GPs and dental services get back to normal? | |
| Johnson says dental services resumed two weeks ago. | |
| Whitty says GPs have been working through the crisis. They have changed the way they work. Many of those changes will make sense for the longer term. | |
| On dentists, he says their work is particularly high risk, because dental work generates a lot of droplets. | |
| He says they have found a way of working in this phase, which will go on for “really quite a prolonged period”. | |
| Johnson says, before taking questions, that the government is winding down these press conferences. | |
| That is because, as they control the virus, they have less to say. | |
| All the information in the slides will still be published, he says. | |
| Whitty says “we have to live alongside this virus for the foreseeable future”. | |
| No decisions are without risks, he says. He says all countries are having to look at how they manage risk. | |
| He says people must get a test and self-isolate if they develop symptoms. | |
| He says people should do things that make it harder for the virus to be passed on, such as washing hands and wearing face coverings. | |
| He says a lot of the changes made today relate to the risks of the virus being passed from one household to another. The moves are designed to ensure that people can be together in a safer way. | |
| He says shielding can protect the very vulnerable. | |
| And scientists are looking for cures and treatments. This will be important too. | |
| He ends by saying it is critical that people take these measures seriously. | |
| Vallance says the disease is declining in the UK. | |
| But it is spreading around the world, he says. | |
| Vallance says the latest R number for the UK is between 0.7 and 0.9. | |
| He presents a slide with the latest estimate from the ONS as to the level of infection. It is flattening off, not disappearing entirely, he says. | |
| Johnson says he had a plan and he stuck to it. | |
| He has asked a huge amount of people, he says. They responded with good humour and common sense. | |
| The fight is far from over, he says. He says there will be local outbreaks. And if the government runs out of control, he will put on the handbrake and reverse some of these moves, either locally or nationally. | |
| He says the public could be trusted to beat this back with common sense. | |
| But some premises, like nightclubs, swimming pools and indoor gyms, have to remain closed, Johnson says. | 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 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 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. | 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. | 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. | See 4.14pm for a full list. |
| Johnson says he is now in a position to change the guidance. | 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 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. | 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. | Here are the slides relating to the five tests presented by Johnson. |