Lockdown Changes announced in England and Scotland

Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, Boris Johnson said people will also be allowed to meet in gardens and other private outdoor spaces.
He also confirmed primary schools and nurseries can reopen from Monday, and from 15 June, some secondary school pupils will be able to return to provide “some face to face contact time” for years 10 and 12.
Non-essential retail will also be allowed to open from the middle of next month if the five tests are still being met.

Up to six people will be able to meet outside as long as those from different households remain two metres apart, he said.
“These changes mean that friends and family can start to meet their loved ones, perhaps seeing both parents at once or grandparents at once,” Mr Johnson said.

The prime minister said that different parts of the UK are moving at different speeds.

He said: “I cannot and will not throw away all the gains we’ve made together and so the changes we’re making are limited and cautious.
“It’s thanks to the caution you’ve shown so far that all five met are being met.
“The result is that we can move forward with adjusting the lockdown in England on Monday.”

Answering a question from the public about localised lockdowns, Mr Johnson said the government will do “all we can” to support those who can’t go to work and said the furlough scheme will stay in place.
He also said he wants to avoid too many local outbreaks, saying this is why it’s “vital” people follow the measures.
The government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, told the briefing that the rate of infection has fallen to 0.1-0.9. Last week, it was 0.7-1.
However, he advised that things need to be done cautiously.
He said: “The number of new infections is estimated to be roughly one in a thousand per week, it means that 54,000 new cases are occurring every week, so somewhere around eight or so thousand per day.
“That is not a low number, so it’s worth remembering that we still have a significant burden of infection, we are still seeing new infections every day at quite a significant rate and the R is close to one.

“That means there is not a lot of room to do things and things need to be done cautiously, step-by-step and monitored and the test and trace system needs to be effective in order to manage that.”

Meanwhile it’s been announced today that people in Scotland will be allowed to play non-contact outdoor sports – including golf, tennis and bowls from tomorrow.

The First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford will be announcing the next steps Wales will be taking tomorrow at 12:30pm. You can hear the briefing on GTFM.