So how many of the 'five tests' to lift lockdown have we passed? Government adviser admits they've only cracked two so far as ministers admit they are stockpiling masks to get public back to work

  • Boris Johnson is delaying unveiling the government's coronavirus exit strategy from Thursday until Sunday
  • Leaked draft suggests companies will not always be obliged to enforce two metre social distancing rules 
  • There will be flexibility if other protections are put in place such as screens and tough hygiene processes
  • Nicola Sturgeon has pre-empted the decision saying there isn't likely to be any 'meaningful' change this week
Britain has only met two of the Government's five key tests that must be passed before the coronavirus lockdown can be lifted, a top advisor admitted today.
The deputy chief medical officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said there remained 'challenges' to be overcome before the tick list could be completed.
His announcement came just days before the lockdown is due to be reviewed, and Boris Johnson pushed back the timing of his exit plan by days.
Speaking at the daily Downing Street news conference Prof Van-Tamm said that the first two tests, making sure the NHS is not overwhelmed and a sustained fall in deaths, had been achieved.
Britain's daily coronavirus death toll today rose by 288 - the lowest 24-hour jump since the end of March, as figures show the UK's crisis is continuing to slow down after peaking in mid-April.
But the news on the final three was less reassuring.
He said: 'The next one is solid information that the rate of infection is decreasing to manageable levels right across the board. This is an indicator that we need to keep a close eye on  over the next few days and weeks.
'The fourth one is around operational challenges around testing and PPE and being able to meet future demand. 
'There are continuing challenges on PPE. It's an absolute priority to keep pushing on this, to get it right in the long-run. But of course on testing .... we are in a very good position.'
On the fifth, being confident the NHS can withstand a second peak of cases, he added: 'This is really a matter of deep scientific discussion - very, very close following and absorbing of the evidence and one that we are keeping under detailed scientific review as the days and the weeks go by.'
His analysis came as Nicola Sturgeon today dismissed the prospect of any 'meaningful' change to lockdown this week. 

Road map for exiting coronavirus lockdown 

A leaked draft has revealed more details of the shape of the next phase of coronavirus curbs - due to be unveiled by Boris Johnson on Sunday. 
Key points include: 
  • More flexibility around the two metre 'social distancing' rule as long as firms are taking other steps to protect workers.
  • Installing screens, strict hygiene procedures, and ensuring people are not close together very long are touted as alternative safeguards. 
  • Offices will be ordered to overhaul their rotas, staggering start, finish and break times.
  • Hot desking will need to end and sharing equipment kept to an absolute minimum. 
  • Staff considered vulnerable who cannot work from home should be put in the 'safest possible roles'. 
The deputy chief medical officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam , said there remained 'challenges' to be overcome before the ticklist could be completed
The deputy chief medical officer for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam , said there remained 'challenges' to be overcome before the ticklist could be completed
The Scottish First Minister declared at a briefing in Edinburgh that the situation is so delicate the curbs cannot be significantly eased.
She also promised to set out her own proposals for how to ease the curbs tomorrow - nearly a week before the PM is expected to unveil his strategy. 
The latest brazen example of Ms Sturgeon gazumping the Westminster government came amid signs the two-metre social distancing rules could be softened to help revive the economy.
The shape of the 'road map' has started to emerge, with a leaked draft suggesting it will recognise that keeping gaps between workers is not always possible.
Instead companies will be advised they can take other precautions such as installing screens and imposing strict hygiene procedures.
Meanwhile, offices will be told to overhaul their rotas to minimise risks by staggering arrival, break and departure times, ending hot desking and avoiding sharing equipment.
Ministers confirmed this morning that the government has started stockpiling face masks for public use.   
The PM is expected to unveil the exit strategy in an address to the nation on Sunday, having delayed the announcement by three days as frantic work continues in Whitehall. The law requires that a decision on extending the lockdown measures be taken by Thursday, but ministers could have initial results from a huge surveillance project to assess the prevalence of the disease by the end of the week. 
In a video posted on the Downing Street Twitter feed today, Mr Johnson warned that the 'worst thing' the country could do right now is 'ease up too soon' while there is still a threat of a 'second peak'.  
'We will only be able to move onto the second phase of this conflict if our five tests have been met,' he said.
The tests are: that the NHS must have sufficient critical care capacity; there must be a sustained and consistent fall in daily deaths; the infection rate must be decreasing to 'manageable levels'; there must be enough PPE and testing supply; and any adjustments must not lead to a second peak which could overwhelm the health service.
Mr Johnson said: 'The worst thing we could do now is ease up too soon and allow a second peak of coronavirus.' 
Ministers have been under massive pressure to set out the way forward, with the draconian current curbs estimated to be costing the country £2billion a day.
The obstacles have been underlined with unions threatening to block plans to get rail services up to 85 per cent of usual levels within a fortnight. Furious Tory MPs accused the RMT of trying to exploit the situation to get more money for their members. 
Downing Street stressed that current guidance was for people to maintain the two metres gap 'where possible'.  
In other developments in the coronavirus crisis 
  • Another 288 people in the UK have died, it was revealed today, taking the total to 28,734; 
  • Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced a package of support worth almost £3billion to help universities weather the coronavirus crisis; 
  • A smartphone app to trace the spread of coronavirus will be trialled on the Isle of Wight this week before being rolled out more widely later this month; 
  • A new 'fast and accurate' coronavirus antibody test has been developed by scientists in Edinburgh, although the company fears the NHS could miss out amid interest in Europe for the machines; 
  • Heathrow Airport has warned travellers could face queues a kilometre long to board flights;  
  • SAGE member Jeremy Farrar has dismissed claims ministers tried to influence the group, as former chief scientific adviser Sir David King assembles an 'independent' rival group to plot a way out of the lockdown;
  • The membership of SAGE has finally been published, although a handful of participants have refused to have their identities revealed. 
Boris Johnson (pictured arriving at Downing Street this morning) is expected to unveil the exit strategy in an address to the nation on Sunday, having delayed the announcement from Thursday as frantic work continues in Whitehall

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today dismissed the prospect of any 'meaningful' change to lockdown this week

In a video posted on the Downing Street Twitter feed today, the PM warned that the 'worst thing' the country could do right now is 'ease up too soon' while there is still a threat of a 'second peak'
At her daily briefing in Edinburgh today, Ms Sturgeon said that, although 'real and significant progress' was being made, the rate of reproduction of the virus was still too high to alleviate lockdown measures.
She said it is 'likely' that lockdown measures will continue without any 'meaningful' changes.
'Although we are making real and significant progress ... the numbers still eing infected by the virus and the all-importnat R number remain too high right now to make any meaningful change without risking the virus running out of control again,' she said.  
Saying she expected to unveil her own exit plan tomorrow, Ms Sturgeon said work would be done to ensure there was alignment with the rest of the UK, but divergence in measures could still be possible. 
The First Minister also outlined the Scottish Government's test, trace, isolate (TTI) strategy, which she said would aid the easing of the lockdown measures.
Ms Sturgeon said the strategy would only work if the public adheres to it, adding it was not a 'quick fix or magic solution' and would need to be done alongside current hygiene guidance.
Ms Sturgeon said moves were being made to deliver a TTI strategy by the end of May, with testing capacity expected to have to rise to 15,500 per day to support the approach.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace hinted that social distancing advice will be fleshed out, telling Sky News that that protective screens and ensuring people were not close together for very long could reduce the need for strict distancing. 
'You can look at shielding, you can look at how long you stay near people. The two-metre rule reduces the possibility of infection by a certain amount of time,' he said.
'If you halve that it still keeps people away from being infected but for a lesser time. The probability of being infected is much less.

Ministers 'in talks over immunity certificates for workers' amid hopes of antibody test 

Ministers are in discussions over coronavirus 'immunity certificates' for workers amid rising hopes of an antibody test. 
Paperwork that could show people are clear of the disease and unlikely to get it again could be deployed as part of efforts to get the economy up and running. 
The plans emerged amid suggestions an accurate antibody test could start being rolled out across the UK within a fortnight.
Testing giant Roche Diagnostics says that it has created a kit that is accurate enough to be used at scale - and the firm says it has enough stock to provide hundreds of thousands to the NHS every week.
It comes after weeks of disappointments regarding antibody tests, which are designed to tell someone if they have contracted the virus in the past and indicate whether they may now be immune.
Roche claims its lab-based 'Elecsys' test can spot 100 per cent of people who have had the virus - with no 'false negatives' at all. The test is important because it gives the clearest possible picture of how widespread the coronavirus is in the UK.
If many more people have had the illness than currently believed, fears of a second peak will diminish.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock took the Downing Street briefing on coronavirus this evening, confirming plans for trial contact tracing on the Isle of Wight this week
Health Secretary Matt Hancock took the Downing Street briefing on coronavirus this evening, confirming plans for trial contact tracing on the Isle of Wight this week
'I think there are options about how we can do it. You can wear PPE, that could be a possibility if you have to be in close proximity or indeed you could find other ways of doing it.'
He pointed towards supermarket workers working behind 'shields'. 
Mr Wallace also confirmed that the government is stockpiling face masks in case it decides to change its advice - something that has already happened in Scotland. Mr Johnson has said they will be 'useful' in the next phase of lockdown but the Westminster guidance has not been updated, 

Ministers are stockpiling face masks as they admit human nature means people will want to wear them 

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today confirmed the government is stockpiling face masks for the public - saying human nature means people will want to wear them. 
Mr Wallace said supplies were being put in place in case the government decides to change its advice - something that has already happened in Scotland. 
Mr Johnson said last week they will be 'useful' in the next phase of lockdown but the Westminster guidance has not been updated. 
'It's not the amazing thing if you wear a mask that no one's going to get it but there is obviously this issue about human nature and interactions if you go on public transport and wear a mask will you feel able to go back to work,' Mr Wallace said.
'At the same time, to anticipate should different rules be made around masks we're trying to source as many masks as possible as we speak and have been for the last few weeks
'It's not the amazing thing if you wear a mask that no one's going to get it but there is obviously this issue about human nature and interactions if you go on public transport and wear a mask will you feel able to go back to work,' Mr Wallace said.
'At the same time, to anticipate should different rules be made around masks we're trying to source as many masks as possible as we speak and have been for the last few weeks.'
Sir Jeremy Farrar, a SAGE member and head of the Wellcome Trust, said there was 'nothing magical' about the two metre advice, and it was based on long-standing evidence about how far coughs and sneezes were likely to travel.
'There is nothing magical about two metres,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'Perhaps more importantly is the time you spend near someone else.'  
The draft guidance, a version of which has been leaked to the BBC and Financial Times.
It suggested vulnerable staff - such as those aged over 70, pregnant, with underlying health conditions or pregnant - should be put in the 'safest possible roles'.
The guidance is clear that anyone who can work from home should continue to do so - meaning many staff will be out of the office for months to come.  
But the draft does not spell out what action should be taken on PPE - saying merely that more information will follow. Some businesses fear they might be open to legal action from staff if they loosen the rules without clear direction from the government. 
Mr Wallace played down concerns that 'coronaphobia' could hamper efforts to get the economy running again, with polls showing significant numbers would be nervous about returning to work.
The Defence Secretary said: 'I strongly believe the public aren't stupid. They read advice, they listen to the media.
'They took on board the Government's advice... and I think they will be perfectly able to read the Government's next stage when we get to it.
'I'm totally confident when it comes to the next step we will all together be able to move forward.' 
Mr Johnson will describe the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as the 'most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes' later as he calls on nations to 'pull together' in response to the pandemic.

Unions are accused of holding country to ransom by refusing to step up services

Rail unions have today been accused of trying to stymie Britain's recovery while holding the country to ransom after they said it was 'premature' to open up the country's public transport network when the lockdown eases.
RMT's Assistant General Secretary Mick Lynch said today that ministers want to be running 85%-100% of train and Tube services within a fortnight despite it not being 'safe' - days after they demanded a new pay deal for workers during the coronavirus crisis.
Mr Lynch also admitted 'most' of their members are working despite Mayor of London Sadiq Khan slashing Tube and bus services to 15 per cent and 12 per cent respectively compared with normal levels and closing 40 stations. Yet tens of thousands of key workers are cramming on to buses and trains because they have no choice but to travel to work every day.
Mr Khan has also claims that Transport for London needs four weeks to prepare for lockdown easing - because it has furloughed 7,000 staff and up to a third of workers have been self-isolation through the crisis.
The country's three biggest rail unions have written to Mr Johnson warning that increasing train services to normal levels from May 18 will be 'dangerous and lead to the public flouting the rules'.
But Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told MailOnline today: 'This is absolutely typical of the militant transport unions – they are trying to exploit the crisis and hold the Government to ransom for more money
The Prime Minister is expected to tell an online pledging conference - co-hosted by the UK and eight other countries and organisations - that the sooner states share their expertise the faster scientists will succeed in defeating the disease.
It comes as Mr Johnson revealed he feared he would not live to see his baby son Wilfred born when he battled Covid-19 in intensive care last month.
The PM will tell the conference, which aims to bring in more than £6.6billion in funding, that the race to develop a vaccine is 'not a competition between countries but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes'.
'It's humanity against the virus - we are in this together and together we will prevail,' he is expected to say.
Coronavirus has claimed more than 246,000 lives around the world, according to analysis by John Hopkins University.
A total of 28,446 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Saturday. 
Meanwhile, the government is facing fresh pressure over testing, after the daily number slumped to 76,496 - below the 100,000 target. 
Cabinet minister Michael Gove told the daily Downing Street press conference last night: 'Ultimately, unless and until we have a vaccine then I suspect that we are going to have to live with some degree of constraint because of the nature of the virus.
'But we obviously want to, wherever possible, and consistent with the measures on public health, restore people's lives to as close to normal as possible.'
He said the Government will pursue a 'phased approach' to removing lockdown restrictions rather than a sudden return to 'the old normal' - and that the easing had to be done in a 'cautious fashion'.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson faces a backbench rebellion over his Government's 'absurd, dystopian and tyrannical' coronavirus lockdown today.
Furious Tory MPs including 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and ex-Brexit ministers David Davis and Steve Baker are preparing to voice anger over the extent of the enforced shut-down. 
They will argue that the economic, social and health costs of the self-imposed paralysis of UK PLC is so great that it must be eased. 
They will use a debate on the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations brought in in March, which gave ministers and police the greatest swathe of restrictive powers ever granted in peacetime.
As well as measures to unclog the stagnant economy there are civil liberties concerns about the new NHS contact tracing app and the way it tracks the public.

PM faces Tory revolt over lockdown measures 

Boris Johnson will face a backbench rebellion over his Government's 'absurd, dystopian and tyrannical' coronavirus lockdown today.
Furious Tory MPs including 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady and ex-Brexit ministers David Davis and Steve Baker are preparing to voice anger over the extent of the enforced shut-down. 
They will argue that the economic, social and health costs of the self-imposed paralysis of UK PLC is so great that it must be eased. 
They will use a debate on the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations brought in in March, which gave ministers and police the greatest swathe of restrictive powers ever granted in peacetime.
As well as measures to unclog the stagnant economy there are civil liberties concerns about the new NHS contact tracing app and the way it tracks the public.
Mr Johnson is expected to announce measures to allow the lockdown to be eased in an address to the nation on Sunday, after it is officially extended for three more weeks on Thursday.
But Mr Baker, a former Brexit 'Spartan' who is no stranger to going contrary to his front bench, said 'whatever the necessities, that the rule of law should have been overthrown in this period is extraordinary and deeply troubling,' in an article for the Daily Telegraph
Mr Johnson is expected to announce measures to allow the lockdown to be eased in an address to the nation on Sunday, after it is officially extended for three more weeks on Thursday.
But Mr Baker, a former Brexit 'Spartan' who is no stranger to going contrary to his front bench, said 'whatever the necessities, that the rule of law should have been overthrown in this period is extraordinary and deeply troubling,' in an article for the Daily Telegraph.
'Millions of people in our country have been plunged into idleness at public expense and unemployment, facing financial and psychological hardship on a scale never seen before,' he added.
''Thousands of people have missed life-prolonging health appointments. Vulnerable people are isolated and domestic violence has soared. Soon will come the full economic impact on all our lives.'
He went on: 'This is absurd, dystopian and tyrannical. The sooner it is ended, the better.' 
Mr Johnson today warned that lifting lockdown restrictions too soon would be 'the worst thing we could do'.
In a video message on Twitter, the Prime Minister said it was important to meet the five tests set by the Government before easing the lockdown. 
Mr Davis, who has a long history of speaking out on civil liberties issues, is preparing to challenge the Government over its new contact tracing app, which is due to start trials on the Isle of Wight this week.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News that the two metre rule could be more flexible
Boris Johnson says the fear of never seeing his new son gave him the will to beat coronavirus 
Boris Johnson has revealed that the fear of never seeing his newborn son drove him in his battle against coronavirus
The Prime Minister, 55, spent a week in April at St Thomas's Hospital in London fighting the virus, including three days in intensive care, and admitted yesterday that doctors had prepared to announce his death. 
Now, in an interview with the Sun, he has opened up further on his fight against the virus, saying he focused on 'positive thoughts' about pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds and the impending birth of their child. 
He said: 'We've all got a lot to live for, a lot to do, and I won't hide it from you, I was thinking about that, yes.'
His son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born last Wednesday, just over two weeks after the Prime Minister was released from hospital. 
Mr Johnson added in the interview that he was 'thrilled' with the birth and also described his hospital experience in greater detail. 
Boris Johnson (pictured arriving back at Downing Street after the birth of his son) has admitted he thought about his unborn child as he  battled coronavirus in intensive care
The PM said he focused on 'positive thoughts' about pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds and the impending birth of their child (pictured is Ms Symonds with baby Wilfred)
A heart-warming caption revealed the boy's full name as Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, with Lawrie a reference to Ms Symond's grandfather and Nicholas a tribute to the two doctors that 'saved Boris' life'
A heart-warming caption revealed the boy's full name as Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, with Lawrie a reference to Ms Symond's grandfather and Nicholas a tribute to the two doctors that 'saved Boris' life'
He said he jumped on his hospital bed wearing only his boxer shorts to 'clap like crazy' for the NHS – just two hours after leaving intensive care.
He added: 'It was a Thursday when I came out of ICU and with me I had a nurse called Becky and a nurse called, I think, Angel.
'I was just in my boxers, nothing else. We stood up and there was this big window looking out on the Thames and we saw the Met and the Fire Brigade do this display with their boats.
'It was just fantastic.'
He also praised the NHS staff who treated him at St Thomas' Hospital, saying they 'pulled my chestnuts out of the fire, no question'.
Speaking today, Donald Trump revealed that he and Mr Johnson had discussed the latter's battle with the virus. 
He told Fox News: 'He [Mr Johnson] was a victim (of this thing). He thought it was all over.'

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