Number 10 has denied quietly relaxing the five tests it has to meet before relaxing coronavirus lockdown measures.
The fifth of the five rules originally stated the lockdown could only be eased if the government can be “confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections”.
But in a graphic newly produced for today’s daily coronavirus briefing, the wording had been changed.
It now reads: “Confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelms the NHS.”
It raised questions over whether a second peak of infections may now be acceptable as long as the NHS wasn’t swamped with new patients.
But Number 10 denied the tests were being relaxed, insisting the wording had simply been revised to more closely match those used by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on April 16.
Mr Raab had said: “Fifth, and this is really crucial, we need to be confident that any adjustments to the current measures will not risk a second peak of infections that overwhelm the NHS.”
These tests were first outlined 12 days ago by Mr Raab, the Prime Minister's stand-in while he was sick.
Only once the UK has fulfilled these tests will some of the lockdown measures - though not all - be relaxed.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was "still too early to say" when schools might reopen and the lockdown might be eased.
"There are still too many deaths each day and the five tests that we set out haven't been met.
"I know, especially as a father of three young children, that there's a yearning from people to know when schools might go back and, of course, it's something that we think about and we talk about."
Responding to a question from Amanda from Hull, he said: "I'm sorry that I can't give you a more definitive answer, but I can't because we don't yet have the number of deaths and the number of infections low enough for that to be safe to reopen the schools, and we don't yet know how fast the number of new cases will fall."
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