‘Stay home this weekend’ – Raab dampens expectations of a quick lockdown exit
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab dampened expectation of a quick release from lockdown at today’s Downing Street press conference.
On a day when the Bank of England said the UK economy will shrink 14% this year, its deepest recession on record, he said the Prime Minister would announce on Sunday a ‘roadmap’ with phases of lockdown release; each phase would only take place when certain milestones were reached.
And he warned the government would tighten restrictions again if there were indications the R level (the rate of infection) began to rise.
“The virus is not yet beaten. It remains deadly and infectious,” he said. “But because the UK has held firm, we are in a position to start thinking about the next phase.
“This is a dangerous moment so we do need to proceed with caution – subject to strict conditions and strict monitoring.”
He said the Prime Minister’s lockdown exit announcement on Sunday would set out how the country could live and work “while maintaining social distancing and other measures necessary to prevent a second peak.”
The Foreign Secretary said there would be detailed guidance for the public and businesses so “the whole country can have a better understanding of what lies ahead and give people confidence that we will both protect life and preserve our way of life.”
He said some measures could be brought in more quickly than others, but confirmed there is no immediate change to the rules and asked the public to stick to the current ‘stay at home’ guidance over the long Bank Holiday weekend.
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