UK coronavirus live: Chris Whitty warns people to distance despite English lockdown easing or risk a second wave
Several members of staff at a Royal Mail sorting office in Chester have tested positive for coronavirus following an outbreak.
Royal Mail confirmed that postal workers at the site on Station Road had contracted the virus, but did not reveal the exact number of infections.
Although the office will remain open for operations, bosses said “an intense, enhanced clean of the building” had been arranged.
A spokesperson said:
We continue to enforce strict social distancing measures at the office. As part of this process, we only permit one person per delivery vehicle. We continue to focus on providing a high standard of service to the local community.
The news comes after several outbreaks of the virus at large indoor workplaces across the UK, including at several food factories.
Q. Are you considering make face coverings mandatory in shops as in Scotland?
Johnson says in crowded spaces with people you wouldn’t normally come into contact with, you should wear a face covering.
Q. Do you agree with Jacob Rees-Mogg that pub-goers should drink a yard of ale to celebrate pubs reopening?
Whitty says Rees-Mogg said he would buy the yard, not that he would drink it. People need to stick to usual sensible guidelines on drinking, he says.
Johnson adds that we would buy and drink a pint but not a yard.
Q. Is there any evidence that the protests, raves and crowded beaches of recent weeks have led to an uptick in infections?
Vallance says nothing has been seen yet, but this doesn’t mean we won’t. It needs to be looked for, adds.
Q. Why should the public obey all the rules you’re putting out at the moment when those close to you [Stanley Johnson and Dominic Cummings] flout the rules?
Johnson says he won’t comment on the movements of his family and Durham police decided not to pursue the other matter [Cummings].
The collective efforts of the public need to keep going now, he adds.
Q. Can we get back to playing cricket soon?
Johnson says they want to work as fast as possible to get cricket back and guidelines will be published in the next few days so cricket can resume in time for next weekend.
Whitty says an issue with cricket is that it brings together large numbers of households, but it’s possible to play while keeping their distance and making the game safe. He says a particular risk would be having tea or beer in a pavilion afterwards.
Q. How concerned are you about what’s going to happen tomorrow and what sort of surveillance measures are there to control infection, given that Sage papers identified pubs and bars as among the principal sources of ‘super-spreading events’?
Vallance says cramped indoor environments which connect different households need to be adjusted so people can properly socially distance to reduce the risk of spreading.
Q. Do you prioritise hospitality or education, if the reopening of pubs drives up infections?
Johnson says the government is determined to get all pupils back to school in September.
Q. Would you give your blessing to people who could take advantage of the lack of a UK-wide quarantine policy to go on holiday?
Johnson says the convoy is going in the same direction, just at different speeds.
Q. Was there ever a medical, scientific justification for the blanket quarantine applied on 8 June?
Vallance says quarantine makes sense when people are coming in from countries with higher infection rates than we have here.
Q. What do you want people to do tomorrow? Do we all have a duty to get out and spend?
Johnson says he wants people to enjoy summer safely.
Q. Can people drink as much as they want?
Whitty says the PM’s advice applies to alcohol as well.
Q. Are you confident that you’ve struck the right balance between public health and the economy, and that you’ve got the right public messaging?
Johnson says they have to get the balance right, but the priority is the health of the British public and the country.
Everybody needs to respect the measures – 1-metre plus, hand washing – and the hospitality sector can return, he says.
Q. Are you comfortable with the pace at which this unlocking is progressing?
Whitty says we should be realistic that there are really serious risks on both sides of the path. Go too far one side and the virus returns; go too far the other side, increases in unemployment and deprivation and the social ills that go with that, he says.
There will be health problems and economic problems for sure, and there is no perfect way or time to do this.
All we can do is balance this while trying to get life back to as close to normal as possible, and there will be risks whatever we do, he says. Nobody believes this is a risk-free next step and so we have to be serious and disciplined about it.
Vallance adds that people must get tested if they have symptoms and test and trace will be extremely important going foward.
Q. Are the first ministers of Scotland and Wales right in describing your air travel policy as ‘shambolic’?
Johnson says this has been trailed for a very long time. Quarantine measures remain in place for countries where the disease is still prevalent.
The UK is generally following similar paths at slightly different speeds, he says.
Hena from Leeds asks about what contingency plans are in place in case of a second wave.
Johnson says the government will keep looking at other ways of controlling the virus and avoiding a second wave. More detail will come shortly, he says.
Whitty says everyone realises a second wave is a possibility and will be for a very long time.
As the economy opens up, everyone taking it responsibly (including adhering to 1-metre-plus, hand washing and face masks) will influence the probability of a second wave, he says.
“We have to be ready for the possibility of local outbreaks escalating.”
Vallance says the Covid-secure approach needs to be stuck to by everyone across society.
Keeping to the rules, especially with the risk of winter coming, will suppress the chances of an upswing in the country, he adds.
David from Milton Keynes asks about support for the events and arts industry which has been decimated by the long period of enforced closure.
Johnson says he knows it’s been a tough time for the sector.
Next week, the government will set out a timetable for getting these businesses as Covid-secure as possible, he adds.
Don’t gather in groups of more than six outside or two household in any settings, Johnson says. Keep your distance from others and wash your hands.
He finishes by saying: “Enjoy summer safely.”
Tomorrow there will be a moment of remembrance for those lost before their time, Johnson says. And on Sunday, there will be a clap for the NHS on its anniversary.
Supporting local businesses should be a focus as lockdown measures ease tomorrow. The economic health of the whole country depends on every single one of us acting responsibly, Johnson says. We must not let them down.
Reopening “will only succeed if everyone works together, as we are not out of the woods, as Leicester has shown”.
This government won’t hesitate in reimposing restrictions if needed.
“Anyone who flouts the rules is putting us all at risk but also letting down business owners who have prepared for this new normal,” Johnson says.
Read the original article at The Guardian