- As of Wednesday, we want to encourage people to go out. You can go out and sit in the sun in the park, you can exercise - but with people from your household. But you still have to follow the rules on social distance, said Prime Minister Boris Johnsson in his speech.
A scale of 1-5 will be introduced in the UK where the public will be informed of the level at which the UK is at. Right now you are at level 4. Level 5 is the highest point where care is at risk of being overloaded. In a few weeks you may possibly go down to level 3.
- If we see outbreaks, we will not hesitate to apply the emergency brake, said the prime minister, who also highlighted that deviations from the rules can have consequences:
- Anyone who does not follow the rules will be fined.
The plan is that the country will be opened up in several stages over two months.
Three phases will have a direct impact on society. In Phase 1 (which is now) people can be allowed to leave their homes, have a picnic and exercise, but only with people in their own household. Phase 2 means that schools can be allowed to open. Phase 3, which will probably be the end of the summer, means that hotels and restaurants may open again.
During the speech, Boris Johnsson praised the British for having avoided a disaster which he believes could have resulted in half a million dead.
- We will come back from this. The UK will change, but for the better. The country will become stronger and more generous, says Boris Johnson.
The national shutdown will be valid until 1 June.