Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday announced the next key steps to deconfinement in his country, saying he hoped for “a return to normalcy as soon as possible from November, perhaps in time for Christmas”.
• Read also: LIVE | The latest developments on the coronavirus
With 45,000 dead, the UK is the country hardest hit in Europe by the pandemic, and the conservative government of Boris Johnson is under fire from critics for its management of the crisis.
However, the conservative leader was rather optimistic for the future. “I sincerely and sincerely hope that we can remove the extraordinary measures” put in place to contain the epidemic “and allow a real return to normal as soon as possible from November, perhaps in time for Christmas”, a he said at a press conference.
To do this, the government plans to further increase its screening capacity, targeting “at least 500,000 tests per day, or 3.5 million per week” in late October.
Boris Johnson also unveiled the next steps in his plan to gradually lift England from the containment that was put in place on March 23 to combat the spread of the new coronavirus.
The conservative leader thus encouraged the English to resume public transport on Friday and encouraged them to return to their workplace from August 1, relying on employers to determine whether employees should continue teleworking or return to a work environment that meets the recommendations.
Thursday however, the government’s scientific adviser Patrick Vallance had considered that teleworking was a “perfectly good solution” and that there was “absolutely no reason” to change the recommendations in this regard.
Casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks, beauticians and performance halls will also reopen on August 1, announced Boris Johnson.
Schools, colleges and child care systems will resume full-time service from September. Fall will mark the return of weddings for up to 30 people, conferences and stadium events.
The Prime Minister, however, clarified that this calendar remains “conditional” and subject to the evolution of the epidemic. “If we continue to stick together as we have done so far, I know we can defeat this virus,” he said, adding “hope for the best scenario, but prepare for the worst” .
–
