The public has been urged by Boris Johnson and his chief scientific advisers to proceed with caution despite the reopening of pubs and restaurants from 4 July.
Announcing relaxations to lockdown rules in the Commons, the prime minister said “our long national hibernation” was over and agreed with a Tory MP who said people should “do their patriotic best for Britain” by going to pub as they reopen.
But at the daily Downing Street briefing later, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned that the PM’s package – which will also see hotels open, friends and families allowed to meet in their own homes and the two-metre social distancing rule cut to a minimum of one – was “not risk-free”.
Download the new Independent Premium app
Sharing the full story, not just the headlines
And chief medical officer Chris Whitty predicted that Covid-19 would still be circulating at “significant” levels at least until the spring of 2021.
Both stressed that two metres remains the general rule for social contacts outside of the home, and that people should approach more closely only if they have taken mitigating steps like wearing face coverings, sitting side by side and keeping interactions brief.
1/30
Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
2/30
Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute’s silence
PA
3/30
NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak.
PA
4/30
Shoppers observe a minute’s silence in Tescos in Shoreham
Getty
5/30
Firefighters outside Godstone fire station
PA
6/30 Salford Royal Hospital
Getty
7/30 Salford Royal Hospital
PA
8/30
Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute’s silence at University College Hospital in London
AP
9/30
A school children’s poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute’s silence
Getty
10/30
A man holds a placard that reads “People’s health before profit” outside St Thomas hospital
Getty
11/30
Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute’s silence
PA
12/30
Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
13/30 University College Hospital, London
Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE
AP
14/30
Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute’s silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus
AP
15/30
Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow
Getty
16/30 London
An NHS worker observes a minute’s silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Reuters
17/30 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London
AFP via Getty
18/30 Belfast, Northern Ireland
NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital
Reuters
19/30 Plymouth
NHS workers hold a minute’s silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital
Getty
20/30
NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute’s silence
Getty
21/30 Mater Infirmorum Hospital
People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers
Reuters
22/30 Waterloo Station, London
AP
23/30
Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall
PA
24/30
A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall
PA
25/30
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh to observe a minute’s silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
26/30
Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence
PA
27/30 London
Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy’s Hospital
Reuters
28/30
A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall
PA
29/30 Royal Derby Hospital
PA
30/30 Leicester,
NHS workers during a minute’s silence outside Glenfield Hospital
Getty
1/30
Staff react outside Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
2/30
Staff inside Camberwell bus depot in London, during a minute’s silence
PA
3/30
NHS staff at the Mater hospital in Belfast, during a minute’s silence to pay tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak.
PA
4/30
Shoppers observe a minute’s silence in Tescos in Shoreham
Getty
5/30
Firefighters outside Godstone fire station
PA
6/30 Salford Royal Hospital
Getty
7/30 Salford Royal Hospital
PA
8/30
Hospital workers take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE across Britain for all workers in care, the NHS and other vital public services after a nationwide minute’s silence at University College Hospital in London
AP
9/30
A school children’s poster hanging outside Glenfield Hospital during a minute’s silence
Getty
10/30
A man holds a placard that reads “People’s health before profit” outside St Thomas hospital
Getty
11/30
Staff members applaud outside the Royal Derby Hospital, following a minute’s silence
PA
12/30
Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, Prime minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, stand inside 10 Downing Street, London, to observe a minutes silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
13/30 University College Hospital, London
Hospital workers hold placards with the names of their colleagues who have died from coronavirus as they take part in a protest calling on the British government to provide PPE
AP
14/30
Staff at Waterloo Station in London, stand to observe a minute’s silence, to pay tribute to NHS and key workers who have died with coronavirus
AP
15/30
Medical staff at the Louisa Jordan hospital stand during a UK wide minutes silence to commemorate the key workers who have died with coronavirus in Glasgow
Getty
16/30 London
An NHS worker observes a minute’s silence at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
Reuters
17/30 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London
AFP via Getty
18/30 Belfast, Northern Ireland
NHS staff observe a minutes silence at Mater Infirmorum Hospital
Reuters
19/30 Plymouth
NHS workers hold a minute’s silence outside the main entrance of Derriford Hospital
Getty
20/30
NHS Frimley Park Hospital staff at the A&E department observe a minute’s silence
Getty
21/30 Mater Infirmorum Hospital
People applaud after a minutes silence in honour of key workers
Reuters
22/30 Waterloo Station, London
AP
23/30
Wreaths laid outside Sheffield town hall
PA
24/30
A group of trade unionists and supporters standing outside Sheffield town hall
PA
25/30
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands outside St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh to observe a minute’s silence in tribute to the NHS staff and key workers who have died during the coronavirus outbreak
PA
26/30
Staff stand outside the Royal Derby Hospital, during a minutes silence
PA
27/30 London
Police officers observe a minutes silence at Guy’s Hospital
Reuters
28/30
A woman standing outside Sheffield town hall
PA
29/30 Royal Derby Hospital
PA
30/30 Leicester,
NHS workers during a minute’s silence outside Glenfield Hospital
Getty
Meanwhile, a group of eminent medics – including the presidents of 11 royal colleges and the chair of the British Medical Association – warned that a second wave of coronavirus was a “real risk” and urged the government to conduct a review to ensure the country is prepared to face it.
In a letter to the British Medical Journal, they wrote: “While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk. Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.
“The job now is not only to deal urgently with the wide-ranging impacts of the first phase of the pandemic, but to ensure that the country is adequately prepared to contain a second phase.”
Making the much-trailed “unlockdown” announcement in the Commons, Mr Johnson said it was essential for the public to act responsibly and warned he would not hesitate to reimpose restrictions locally or nationally to clamp down on Covid flare-ups.
But he made clear he would rely on “common sense and community spirit” rather than enforcement to ensure that the new rules are observed and “see us through to victory over this disease”.
The latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox
The prime minister joked about visiting “pubs and hostelries” across the country to mark their reopening and urged them to “use their ingenuity to open up in all the ways that they can” while keeping in line with new guidance.
The new guidelines for England, unveiled as figures showed the official UK death toll rising by 171 to 42,927, will see:
– Pubs, restaurants, hotels, cinemas, hairdressers, museums, galleries and outdoor playgrounds reopen from 4 July, conditional on being made “Covid-secure”.
– Indoor gatherings of two households of any size to take place in homes and hospitality venues, including overnight stays in holiday accommodation.
– Places of worship open to congregations of up to 30, including for weddings, but without singing which risks spreading infection.
– Gyms, swimming pools, tattoo parlours and soft play areas remain closed, with theatres and concert halls allowed only to show screenings of past events but no live performances.
“Yes I want to see people out in the shops,” Mr Johnson told MPs. “It is a fantastic thing to see.
“Yes I want to see people taking advantage of hospitality again, a wonderful thing. Yes I want to see people enjoying friends and family again but they’ve got to do it in a responsible way and observing social distancing.”
The announcement by No 10 that the daily 5pm briefings were ending after more than three months appeared to send a clear signal that the height of the crisis was over, with Mr Johnson saying ministers would now appear only when “we have something really important to say”.
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, hinted at further easing to come, tweeting that his “aspiration” was to open gyms by the middle of next month.
But both Mr Whitty and Mr Vallance took a notably cautious tone when they appeared alongside the PM at the last of the daily press conferences, stressing that the decision to ease restrictions was taken by politicians.
Sir Patrick said the government’s approach to easing the lockdown, which was taken in the light of economic as well as scientific and medical advice, was “reasonable”.
But he added: “It is not risk free. It cannot be risk free. Every time you take a step to open up there is some associated risk with that,”
The latest figures showed the epidemic shrinking by 2 to 4 per cent a day, while the crucial R number – showing the average number of people infected by each coronavirus patient – remained below one, said the chief scientific adviser.
But he warned that the numbers were “flattening off” rather than going down to zero, saying: “Don’t be fooled that this means it has gone away. The disease is growing across the world. It is coming down in the UK but it hasn’t gone away.”
Prof Whitty said it was “absolutely critical” that individuals and businesses take new guidelines seriously.
“If people hear a distorted version of what’s being said, that says ‘this is all fine now, it’s gone away’ and start behaving in ways that they normally would have before this virus happened, yes, we will get an uptick for sure,” he warned.
Sir Patrick said it was “extremely unlikely” that Covid would burn out naturally in the UK and said he was only “moderately optimistic” of vaccines and treatments negating the danger it poses in the near term.
And Prof Whitty predicted that the country could have to cope with Covid-19 into 2021.
“I would be surprised and delighted if we weren’t in this current situation through the winter and into next spring,” he said.
“I expect there to be a significant amount of coronavirus circulating at least into that time and I think it is going to be quite optimistic that for science to come fully to the rescue over that kind of timeframe.
“But I have an absolute confidence in the capacity of science to overcome infectious diseases – it has done that repeatedly and it will do that for this virus, whether that is by drugs, vaccines or indeed other things that may come into play.
“For medium to long term, I’m optimistic. But for the short to medium term, until this time next year, certainly I think we should be planning for this for what I consider to be the long haul into 2021.”
Acknowledging the chief medical officer’s concerns, Mr Johnson said: “As for 4 July, I hope it will be a great day but obviously, you know, people have got to make sure they don’t overdo it.
“I know Chris is particularly worried about this – we can’t have great writhing scenes in the beer gardens when the virus could be passed on. This has to be done in a sensible way.”
