Boris Johnson will lead tonight’s coronavirus press conference for the first time in a month after recovering from a spell in intensive care.
The Prime Minister will appear at the 5pm briefing from Downing Street after a whirlwind week in which he returned to work – only to see the birth of his son.
And he will return to the Cabinet table this morning as he summons ministers, many virtually, to discuss the latest scientific advice on the lockdown.
It is his first appearance at the daily briefing since March 25, two days before he tested positive for Covid-19.
But the PM is expected to offer precious little detail of how the UK lockdown might eventually be eased.
(Image: 10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty)
Ministers and Downing Street have repeatedly stressed it is too early to consider easing restrictions and when they are, they will not be lifted entirely in one go.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t think you’re going to hear specific detail, I think that would be premature frankly.
“What is important is those principles we set out in the five tests, that I think people know about.”
The five tests are:
- The NHS is able to cope
- A sustained fall in deaths
- New infections dropping enough
- Adequate testing and PPE
- No second peak that overwhelms NHS
(Image: PA)
Mr Buckland said the government’s scientific advisors SAGE are meeting daily to look at the evidence and are reporting to the PM and Cabinet to decide.
But he warned “we’re still in the middle of it – we’re by no means at the end of it”.
The lockdown must be reviewed by next Thursday 7 May according to the law.
But Mr Buckland backed Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who last night said she couldn’t see any measures being lifted at that point.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think she’s right to be cautious.”
He added: “I think the common thread between the government is one of extreme caution – following the evidence of the SAGE committee, making sure we don’t do anything in a premature way that could risk a second spike.
“That would be a disaster, that’s something we all understand clearly, and I think she’s more than entitled to make these cautious comments.
“It reflects really what we’re doing in the UK government as well.”
Despite Mr Buckland saying the UK cannot risk “a second spike”, the government’s official test is not to risk a second spike “that overwhelms the NHS”.
Ministers have not spelt out what size of second spike they are willing to accept if some social distancing measures are eased.
Boris Johnson’s deputy Dominic Raab last night said the NHS had not been overwhelmed, even in the first spike. But that spike led to more than 25,000 deaths.
Mr Buckland said there would not be a “sudden” move into the next phase of the lockdown.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think, within Government, there is already a lot of work going on as to what the future is going to look like – I think it would be a dereliction of duty if we didn’t do that.
“Certainly in my department, I’m looking ahead now to the medium term as to what the summer and autumn are going to look like in the prison and court system. We’ve got to start that work, in fact the work is already under way.
“That’s, of course, not saying that we’re suddenly going to move into a new phase – we need to be absolutely sure that the five tests that were set out some weeks ago are going to be met, and in particular the need to avoid that second or even third spike in the disease is clear to me both in terms of health and the well-being of the economy as well.”
With the UK’s coronavirus death toll now the third highest in the world after the US and Italy, Downing Street is playing down any expectations of an easing of restrictions.
Number 10 said a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day would look at the “response in general” but not make any decisions on lockdown measures.
That response was facing further criticism as Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s deadline arrived for carrying out 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day.
With just over 52,000 tests carried out on Tuesday, the deadline looks set to be missed although that will not become clear until Friday.
The target has been condemned by the NHS Providers group as a “red herring” which distracts from shortcomings in the long-term coronavirus strategy.
It released a report on Thursday which highlights how the English health and care system “started from a poor position” as Covid-19 tightened its grip on Europe, and consistently “struggled” to demonstrate a “clear, effective and well communicated strategy”, with a lack of clarity on who would be tested, when, how, and with what frequency.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and NHS trusts in England, said: “Testing is one area where, despite all the work delivered by trusts and the NHS, the health and care system as a whole has struggled to develop an effective, co-ordinated approach.”
A total of 26,097 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community in the UK after contracting Covid-19.
It is the first time data on the number of deaths in care homes and the wider community has been included in the Government’s daily updates.
The total is around 17% higher than previous data showed and includes an additional 3,811 deaths recorded since the start of the outbreak.
Of these, around 70% were outside hospital settings.
The change in measurement means the UK death toll is the third highest in the world, behind the US and Italy, based on data from Johns Hopkins University.
The US had reported 58,355 deaths and Italy 27,359.
The Government pointed out other countries may report figures differently and any lag is unclear, although France and Italy also include deaths in care homes.
