Boris Johnson has come under fire for new ‘stay alert’ slogan in the next phase of the coronavirus crisis amid warnings Britain could suffer 100,000 deaths this year if the lockdown is relaxed.
The PM is expected to drop the ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’ instruction in a televised address to the UK tonight at 7pm in an effort to reopen parts of the economy.
It is believed that the new mantra was drawn up by advisers to the Conservative Party’s 2019 election campaign amid fears the earlier instruction to ‘stay at home’ had been too effective.
However, the updated instruction – to ‘stay alert, control the virus and save lives’ – has attracted criticism from public figures who believe ‘stay alert’ is much too soft to guard against a pathogen.
It follows news that the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) received warnings that there could be 100,00 deaths by the end of 2020 if measures are relaxed too far and too fast.
A five-tier warning system, administered by a Joint Biosecurity Centre, will be used to monitor the virus risk around the country and encourage public adherence to the new measures.
The alerts will range from Level One (green) to Level Five (red), with Britain currently on Level Four.
It will be administered by a Joint Biosecurity Centre, which will be responsible for detecting local spikes of Covid-19 so ministers can increase restrictions where necessary to help reduce the infection rates.
Boris Johnson will tell the British public to ‘stay alert, control the virus and save lives’ as the government drops the ‘stay at home’ message in the next phase of the war against coronavirus (pictured, outside No 10 Downing Street)
The PM is expected to drop the slogan ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’ in a televised address to the UK tonight at 7pm in an effort to reopen parts of the economy (pictured, new government pandemic slogan)
A No 10 source said that Mr Johnson, who is facing calls from Tory MPs to steer Britain clear of an economic recession, is ‘proceeding with maximum caution and maximum conditionality’ (pictured, people by Tower Bridge, London)
A further 346 coronavirus deaths were announced on Saturday, bringing the country’s official death toll to 31,587
Harry Potter author JK Rowling hit out by saying: ‘Is Coronavirus sneaking around in a fake moustache and glasses? If we drop our guard, will it slip us a Micky Finn? What the hell is ‘stay alert’ supposed to mean?’
Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, tweeted that it ‘feels to me like a mistake to me to drop the clear’ stay at home message.
Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said: ‘The messaging from this Government throughout this crisis has been a total joke, but their new slogan takes it to a new level. Stay alert? It’s a deadly virus not a zebra crossing.’
Writer and comedian Adam Kay added that it would be ‘difficult to stay alert to something that’s 0.0001 millimetres in diameter. This pandemic is going to have as many spikes as a coronavirus’.
However, there was praise for the new message from the Bruges Group think tank. It tweeted: ‘The Government’s new slogan is good.
‘Green replaces red for a calmer feel. “Stay Alert” replaces “Stay Home” and underlines individual responsibility. “Control the Virus” is a positive message.
‘It’s within our power to achieve.’
Mr Johnson is expected to announce tomorrow that England is on the verge of moving down to Level Three from its Level Four grading, in a sign that there is no significant increase in the Covid-19 infection rate.
A No 10 source said that Mr Johnson, who is facing growing calls from Tory MPs to steer Britain clear of a severe economic recession, is ‘proceeding with maximum caution and maximum conditionality’.
The government’s road map for bringing the country out of lockdown will be published in a 50-page document tomorrow. It is understood that MPs will be briefed on the so-called ‘exit strategy’.
The PM is also expected to say that social distancing rules will save livelihoods as well as lives. The change in messaging reflects concerns that Britain faces an economic contraction not felt in 300 years.
Matt Hancock (right ) has asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left) to ‘give him a break’ after a recent bust-up between the pair over the Health Secretary’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak
His broadcast will be his second national address of the crisis, and the first since he was hospitalised. Beforehand his televised address, he will chair a Cobra meeting with leaders of the devolved administrations and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The change in messaging comes as the Johnson government’s united front cracks under the pressures of handling the coronavirus crisis, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock now at blows with the PM, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Mr Hancock urged the PM to ‘give me a break’ in a bust-up raising questions over the Minister’s Cabinet future.
Mr Hancock’s spokesman said Ministers were ‘furious’ about the mistake with the goggles, which they said had been ordered by Labour in 2009.
A Health Department source dubbed them ‘Gordon’s goggles’ and added they were bought against 2001 standards of protection which were superseded by the time they were purchased. ‘Even a decade on, we are still having to clear up Labour’s mess’, they added.
The latest PPE fiasco will be damaging to the Health Secretary, coming days after it emerged that surgical gowns ordered from Turkey and flown into the UK amid great fanfare did not all meet British safety standards.
A source said tensions had run high in the run-up to the deadline for hitting the 100,00 tests a day target, but said ‘the PM was full of praise for his performance’.
A No 10 source said: ‘This is a critical moment so, having assessed the evidence carefully, the Prime Minister will ask for the public resolve as we continue to do whatever is needed to defeat this devastating virus.’
Yesterday Mr Johnson begged the British public to stay indoors during the last days of full lockdown.
Taking to Twitter, the PM told his followers: ‘Thank you for all you are doing to protect our NHS and save lives. This bank holiday weekend, please stay at home, so we don’t undo everything we’ve done so far.’
Yet people still poured into the nation’s beauty spots to soak up some bank holiday sunshine – including the PM who this morning strolled through St James’s Park, where he was accosted by a finger-jabbing passer-by.
A member of the public stopped to give British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a talking to as he took a morning walk through St James’s Park in London yesterday. He was carrying a reusable Costa coffee cup
Mr Johnson warned Britons that venturing out over the bank holiday weekend could ‘undo everything that’s been done so far’
Visitors walk through a busy Broadway Market in London despite Mr Johnson urging Britons to stay at home this weekend
Parliament Square in Westminster witnessed huge crowds of cyclists as people enjoyed the hottest day of the year so far
A further 346 coronavirus deaths were announced on Saturday, bringing the country’s official death toll to 31,587
It compounded existing accusations that the government has been sending mixed messages following a flurry of reports it is preparing to ditch its ‘stay at home’ slogan in the Sunday broadcast.
And further casting a cloud of a confusion, a second tweet from the official Downing Street account said: ‘If you are leaving the house this weekend you need to keep two metres apart from others.’
Mr Johnson was pictured swigging from a reusable Costa coffee cup on his daily walk through the park.
As he marched to work, Mr Johnson was confronted by a man who appeared give him a piece of his mind, pointing a finger at the startled PM as a smiling woman looked on. It is unclear what the man said and MailOnline has contacted No 10 for comment.
Thousands of Britons joined Mr Johnson in hitting the country’s green spaces, but unlike the premier some were pictured sprawled out in groups sunbathing on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far.
Police in Brighton stopped cars on the A23 to prevent sun-worshipping covidiots away from the seaside, with locals cheering as tourists were turned away.
And the Coastguard said that on Friday it had the highest number of call-outs since lockdown began, with 97 incidents, 54 per cent more than the average of 63 recorded for the previous month.
Residents jog and walk along the the Regents canal in London, where hundreds of people were out getting their exercise
Cyclists were out in their droves on the Mall in London amid signs some lockdown restrictions could be softened
Cyclists queuing at traffic lights entering Parliament Square as thousands of Britons enjoyed the sweltering temperatures
Visitors enjoying views of the skyscrapers in the City of London from a closed off viewing area in Greenwich Park, London
Although the rule-breaking signals compliance with lockdown is fraying, Mr Johnson has told Cabinet he will be proceeding with ‘maximum caution’ in order to avoid a second wave of deadly infections.
Transport unions have threatened to derail any move to get too many people back onto trains and buses as chiefs have said they ‘will not compromise on the health, safety and livelihoods of our members’.
Teaching unions have sounded a similar warning relating to the phased return of schools.
Ministers have been urging the UK to stick with social distancing rules this weekend despite the sunny weather and to wait for the PM to set out his plan tomorrow. Mr Johnson tweeted: ‘Thank you for all you are doing to protect our NHS and save lives. This bank holiday weekend, please stay at home, so we don’t undo everything that’s been done so far.’
The PM also acknowledged the strain the lockdown has put on people’s mental health as he said it ‘has been a difficult time for many’. He told anyone who is struggling that ‘there is help available’.
Ministers are thought to want to start sending primary schoolchildren back to classrooms in June. However, unions have said they will not sign off on the plans until a test and tracing system is fully operational.
The return of schools and childcare services will be key to restoring much of the economy because many workers with children will be unable to go back to work until education settings are up and running.
‘We’re fighting a losing battle’: Hackney police admit defeat as sun-worshippers pack out parks and beaches on ‘hottest day of the year so far’ on last weekend of full lockdown
By Amelia Wynne and Joe Davies for MailOnline
Police today admitted they are ‘fighting a losing battle’ in the lockdown fight as sun-worshipping covidiots packed out parks and beaches on the hottest day of the year so far.
People were out in their droves as temperatures hit 26C (78.8F) on the South Coast, matching the 26C recorded in Treknow, in Cornwall, on Good Friday, making it hotter than Ibiza and St Tropez.
Hundreds flocked to London Fields where Hackney police said they were powerless to stop those out enjoying the sun from drinking and eating pizza.
The force tweeted a picture of the park and said: ‘Sadly we’re fighting a losing battle in the parks today. Literally hundreds of people sitting having pizza, beers, wines.
‘As always a big thank you to those that are observing the guidelines.’
In scenes replicated around the country, the Coastguard said that on Friday it had the highest number of call-outs since lockdown began, with 97 incidents, 54 per cent more than the average of 63 for the month.
Traffic cops in Brighton are stopping cars at the end of the A23 which leads to the south coast seaside mecca and officers have fined visitors trying to visit for the bank holiday.
Scroll down for video.
Hackney police says it is ‘fighting a losing battle’ as hundreds of people flock to London parks, including London Fields (pictured), to eat pizza, drink wine and eat ice cream on Saturday
A police checkpoint turns away cars trying to get into Brighton as bored families break coronavirus lockdown rules
Covidiots flock to Burgess Park in South London, ignoring social distancing advice and packing out pathways and benches
Families with young children queue for ice cream near Greenwich Park in London on Saturday as the ice cream seller dons a face mask despite customers lining up shoulder-to-shoulder
Police officers on patrol in a South London park are exasperated as they ask sunbathers and people enjoying picnics to leave
An ice cream seller takes orders from behind a plastic screen while wearing a face mask as crowds line up behind customers
Police had to clear beaches at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, after sun-seekers flocked to the coast to enjoy the warm water
A man is stopped by police officers on the beach in Essex after ignoring the government’s guidelines to stay at home
Lockdown flouters are removed from the beach in Southend-on-Sea after ignoring the government’s advice to stay indoors
Hundreds of people flocked to the Essex seaside town in groups clearly flouting the government’s lockdown guidance