U.K. Lockdown Set to Be Eased But No Big Change Before June
Government tried to damp expectations that the U.K.’s coronavirus lockdown will be significantly rolled back
(Bloomberg) --
Boris Johnson’s government tried to damp expectations that the U.K.’s coronavirus lockdown will be significantly rolled back as top scientists warned the country’s infection rate has crept upward in recent days.
The prime minister will set out a plan for how the restrictions will be eased in a statement to the nation Sunday. A person familiar with the matter suggested rules may not change significantly until June, when small shops may be allowed to re-open. Details aren’t expected to be finalized until Sunday, as Johnson’s team consider the latest data.
On Friday, authorities in Wales announced three changes to the lockdown, which will largely remain in place for at least another three weeks. From Monday:
- Garden centers will be allowed to re-open, “physical distancing” is observed
- People will be able to leave their homes to exercise nearby as often as they like. The current limit is for only one period of exercise outdoors each day
- Local authorities will be able to start planning to reopen libraries and recycling centers.
British officials spent much of Thursday trying to counter reports suggesting that there will be a significant lifting of the lockdown when Johnson announces the U.K. wide picture on Sunday. Britons woke up Thursday to front-page headlines ranging from “Happy Monday” to “Hurrah! Lockdown Freedom Beckons.”
Ahead of a long holiday weekend that started on Friday in warm sunshine, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab insisted that the restrictions will remain in place until the government says otherwise.
“Whatever is being reported in the newspapers is not a reliable guide to either the evidence that we’re getting or the policy decisions that will be taken,” he said. “The point at which we make even the smallest of changes to the current guidance will be a point of maximum risk.”
Johnson’s Plan
The reason for the administration’s caution was laid bare when National Statistician Ian Diamond backed a scientific assessment that the infection rate had risen at least a little in recent days, largely due to the continuing spread of the disease in care homes. He estimated that there are now as many as 20,000 new cases a day, far more than the official count of confirmed Covid-19 infections, which has ranged recently from about 4,000 to 6,000 a day.
“I do believe that social distancing and maintaining it over the next few weeks is going to be central to continuing to reduce the epidemic,” Diamond said, speaking at a press conference in London alongside Raab.
Johnson is due to make his announcement at 7 p.m. Sunday to give details about what he has described as “Phase Two” of the crisis. Raab said that “it is safe to say that any changes in the short term will be modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored,” adding that ministers will reserve the right to tighten the restrictions again. The Telegraph late Thursday said Johnson may lift the lockdown in fortnightly stages.
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The Sun reported earlier that pubs might be able to open outside areas. According to officials, the easing will be less dramatic than that, with people allowed to sit or sunbathe in parks and exercise outdoors as much as they like, as long as they keep two meters away from others.
Data announced at Friday’s regular televised briefing showed deaths and infections are still at high levels. Environment Secretary George Eustice reported 4,649 new cases of Covid-19 and 626 deaths. That compares with 6,032 and 674 a week ago.
Over Reaction
Some government officials have said parts of the public over-reacted to the lockdown, with workers staying home even when that wasn’t the intention.
The risk now is that, with the sun shining on a holiday weekend, people over-react in the other direction, taking the signal they can go to see friends and hold parties. That would risk a fresh increase in infections.
London’s Metropolitan Police issued a statement urging the public to heed the restrictions, and saying officers would be on patrol to enforce the rules if necessary.
“We are not going to do anything that would risk a second peak,” Johnson told his cabinet on Thursday, according to his spokesman, James Slack. “We will advance with maximum caution.”
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