The British prime minister will address the public tonight to explain how the country may gradually start coming out of its lockdown over coronavirus.
Boris Johnson is expected to drop the “stay home” slogan but instead tell people to “stay alert, control the virus and save lives” to help fight the pandemic in his pre-recorded speech on Sunday evening.
This address, which will see the PM outline a “road map” for relaxing lockdown measures, will start at 7pm.
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The incoming changes for England are expected to be modest, including lifting the limit of only one form of exercise per day and letting garden centres reopen.
Mr Johnson also plans on encouraging workers who cannot do their jobs from home to begin returning to their workplaces while following social-distancing rules.
The new “stay alert” message will come amid concerns employees may not feel comfortable going back to work after weeks of firm instructions to “stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives”.
The transport secretary said at a Downing Street briefing over the weekend the PM will be proceeding with “extreme caution”. He did not deny ministers were planning to impose a 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK by plane.
The UK has been in lockdown since mid-March, with people told to stay at home unless it is essential, all public gatherings of more than two banned and all non-essential businesses ordered to shut.
More than 215,200 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK, the health ministry said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the death toll for coronavirus patients stood at 31,587 – the second-highest in the world after the US.
Additional reporting by Press Association
