The Government is considering easing the coronavirus social-distancing restrictions on people meeting outdoors, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister’s spokesman, speaking at the Daily Lobby meeting, said they were looking at a range of possible “easements”, as well some toughening of the rules, ahead of the expected publication on Sunday of the government’s “roadmap” for easing the lockdown.
The spokesman said:
We are looking at a range of possible easements to the social distancing measures. We are also looking at areas that need to be toughened. Once we have the scientific evidence and we have completed the review process, we will be able to set out what those are.
At the same time though he said that any easing of the lockdown restrictions could only take place once they were sure it would not lead to a second peak in the disease,
“We need to be guided by scientific advice and by that key consideration which is that we cannot do anything which we believe would lead to the R – rate of transmission – going above one.
“We would have to ensure that any steps that we take don’t risk a second peak which might overwhelm the NHS and throw away all of the sacrifice that has been made by the British public so far.”
