Socially distanced gatherings of up to six people will be allowed in outdoor spaces in England from Monday, Boris Johnson has announced as part of plans to gradually ease the country’s lockdown.
The prime minister confirmed all five tests required to move to the next stage had been met, schools to begin reopening and greater contact to be permitted from next week.
It comes as Bank of England rate maker Michael Saunders warned Britain’s economy is unlikely to recover in the next two to three years, in the gloomiest medium-term assessment from a UK policymaker so far.
And Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has unveiled changes to the furlough scheme and the self employed grant that will see both wrapped up after eight months.
Follow the latest updates
Groups of six allowed to meet in private outdoor spaces from Monday, Boris Johnson says
People will be able to meet with up to six friends and family members in gardens and other private outdoor spaces in England from next week, Boris Johnson has said, political correspondent Lizzy Buchan reports.
Announcing plans to begin easing the lockdown, the prime minister said small groups would permitted to gather outside from Monday, as long as social distancing rules were maintained.
Primary schools will also begin to reopen next week for certain year groups, and garden centres, outdoor markets and car showrooms will begin to open to small numbers of shoppers at a time.
Mr Johnson said “limited and cautious” changes were being made to the restrictions to prevent a fresh surge in coronavirus cases.
If the infection rate remains at a lower level, secondary schools will begin to partially reopen from 15 June, along with non-essential shops.
Scotland and Wales to gradually relax lockdowns
In Scotland, a gradual relaxation begins on Friday with a similar plan to allow outside gatherings, though first minister Nicola Sturgeon is permitting groups of up to eight people.
Her Welsh counterpart, Mark Drakeford, is set to announce that outdoor meet-ups can resume from Monday, but he will unveil new "stay local" guidance to not travel more than five miles.
Britain's economy unlikely to fully recover in next two to three years
Britain's economy is unlikely to recover fully in the next two to three years, Bank of England rate setter Michael Saunders has warned.
“If unchecked, there are risks of a vicious circle, whereby the economy gets stuck in a self-feeding loop of weak activity, pessimistic expectations and low investment,” Mr Saunders said.
It was the gloomiest medium-term assessment to date from a UK policymaker so far.
London buses to resume front door boarding
London's buses are set to resume front door boarding following the introduction of new safety measures aimed at minimising the coronavirus risk to drivers, Transport for London (TfL) has said.
Front door boarding will be reinstated on 124 bus routes from Saturday, with customers required to touch on using their Oyster, contactless or concessionary cards.
The process was abandoned in April amid concerns that 26 London bus workers had died from Covid-19.
But analysis from the University College London has suggested that safety and hygiene improvements made by TfL has made it possible for front door boarding to resume by substantially reducing the risk to drivers of contracting coronavirus from customers.
The safety measures include adding a film layer to screens and sealing off gaps around the screen as a whole, along with a rigorous cleaning regime which sees cabs, handrails and other regularly touched areas treated with hospital-grade anti-viral disinfectant.
TfL anticipates that all London buses will have returned to front door boarding by mid-June, and will be limiting capacity to ensure compliance with social-distancing guidelines.
Double-decker buses will be able to carry 20 customers while single-decker buses can carry between six and 10 customers.
Drivers will have the discretion to allow more customers on board if they are travelling in households or groups.
'Perverse' if government does not continue to support self-employed
Derek Cribb, CEO of the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), has said it would be "perverse" for the government to not offer continued financial support for the self-employed.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Cribb said: "I think it would be quite unusual and quite perverse actually if the government don't extend the scheme.
"We've got five million self-employed out there, which, over two million have drawn on the scheme to date.
"They're looking at support coming to an end on Sunday and yet the Job Retention Scheme, for those in employed roles, has been extended until October - so there seems to be quite a substantial disconnect in support there."
He added: "I think it's absolutely reasonable that we'd expect to see some sort of taper, as it were, on the support given to the self-employed over the period. But again, mirroring the offer to those who are employed to the self-employed and potentially extending it as well."
Wales R rate remains at 0.8
The first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, has said the R infection rate in the country remains at 0.8.
Discussing the state of the R rate in Wales ahead of the relaxing of lockdown measures so people from two different households can meet each other outdoors, Mr Drakeford told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Well it is falling.
"The R rate across Wales is no better today than it was three weeks ago, which is why we have only limited headroom to make any difference.
"And that is why we decided to focus on this one measure to allow households to see one another."
Variations on the measures will be introduced in England and Scotland.
Asked what the R rate is currently, he said: "It was 0.8 three weeks ago, it is 0.8 today.
"For care homes it will be a little bit above that, for hospitals it will be below that, but it is falling in all contexts, but slower than we had hoped.
"And that is why we have limited headroom, can offer just one step forward and still remain in Wales determined to do this in as careful and as cautious way as is necessary."
Mr Drakeford said the number of deaths in care homes has been "deeply distressing" but that "at every stage the Welsh government has instituted the policies that were recommended to us by our scientific and medical advisers".
People cannot be furloughed indefinitely, minister says
The environment secretary, George Eustice, has said people cannot be furloughed "indefinitely" and ways need to be found to get people safely back to work.
Asked on Sky News whether there will be continued support for the self-employed, Mr Eustice said: "Well obviously it is nearly a month ago now that we said we wanted to reopen those bits of the economy that couldn't work from home, so we've been encouraging the construction industry for instance to get back to work.
"A lot of those self-employed professions such as plumbers, electricians and so on, those people are able to return to work now, albeit observing social distancing, but we need to try to start to get bits of the economy back to work.
"Now I don't know what Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, will say later in terms of self-employed and the furlough scheme for them, but I think there is a general overarching message here that we've had a very generous furlough scheme in place to help people through these extraordinary times and to ensure that businesses' overheads could be covered."
Renault announces plans to cut 15,000 jobs globally
Renault has announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs globally as is slashes production targets in response to a "major crisis" in the car industry, Ben Chapman reports.
The car maker said on Friday that 4,600 jobs would go in France with the rest elsewhere, without giving further details.
It comes a day after Nissan, which is in an alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, announced thousands of job cuts.
Renault said in a statement: “The difficulties encountered by the group, the major crisis facing the automotive industry and the urgency of the ecological transition are all imperatives that are driving the company to accelerate its transformation.”
The French company will cut production capacity from 4 million to 3.3 million vehicles by 2024.
Sales plunged 25 per cent in the first quarter of the year amid a host of problems facing the industry, including falling demand in China, a transition to electric vehicles and the coronavirus pandemic.
China reports no new cases
China reported no new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland as of the end of yesterday, down from two a day earlier, the country's health authority said today.
The National Health Commission also confirmed five new asymptomatic coronavirus cases yesterday, down from 23 a day earlier.
Pubs with beer gardens will be first to reopen, environment secretary says
George Eustice, the environment secretary, has confirmed that pubs with beer gardens are likely to be the first venues in the hospitality sector to reopen.
Asked about those self-employed workers who cannot go back to work, Mr Eustice told Sky News: "The sectors that are going to have the greatest challenge getting back to work, which we recognise, and I'm sure the chancellor recognises this too - the hospitality sector and some of those other ticketed venues, in particular cinemas and in particular theatres, restaurants and pubs, will also face a challenge getting back in to operation.
"And that is why we won't be loosening the restrictions on them until at least July and even then it is likely that in the case of pubs and restaurants it will begin with beer gardens and outdoor areas only."
Russia reports record increase in infections
Russia has reported 232 deaths from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a record one-day amount that pushed the nationwide death toll to 4,374.
Officials said 8,572 new infections had been confirmed, bringing the national tally to 387,623, the third highest reported total in the world after the United States and Brazil.
Shielding may have to continue 'for several more months'
George Eustice has warned that those shielding from coronavirus may have to continue to do so "for several more months".
Asked about ways to make life easier for those who are shielding, the environment secretary told LBC: "Well it is something that we are looking at because we completely recognise that those who are shielded and clinically vulnerable who have been told to isolate and not to see friends and family at all, that is going to start taking its toll on them and we want to be able to find ways to be able to do that.
"But it is very, very difficult because they are clinically vulnerable and nobody obviously wants to visit family in that group and find that they've given them the virus.
"So we don't have answers yet, that's why they have to remain shielded for the time being, possibly for several more months."
He added that it is "a difficult situation with that shielded cohort".
England isn't a template for the rest of UK to follow,' Welsh first minister says
Mark Drakeford was asked on BBC Breakfast why the Welsh government was not following the same measures as announced by the UK government, given the R value is similar in England and Wales.
"Well I could put it the other way to you - why aren't they following what's been done in other parts of the United Kingdom?" the first minister said.
"England isn't a template for the rest of the UK to follow.
"I think we are still moving in the same direction across the United Kingdom - we're all moving cautiously, we're all lifting lockdown - but we're applying it in our own contexts."
Mr Drakeford said pilots of Wales' track and trace system, which have been running for the past two weeks, indicate that each person with a positive test has around four or five contacts that need to be followed up.
Virus 'has not gone away' as lockdowns ease, WHO warns
As lockdown begins to ease, the World Health Organisation's Covid-19 special envoy, Dr David Nabarro, warned "this virus has not gone away".
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said: "So what was happening through the lockdown was that a very large amount of illness was prevented from becoming totally catastrophic right across the country and the outbreaks that did occur subsided and were contained.
"And now we have to keep them at the minimum possible level by being on constant defence and at the same time by being very focused on where, if it is necessary, to have further movement restrictions where these are put in place."
Dr Nabarro added: "I don't think people should feel it is going to go on constantly with everybody being in lockdown, but it will be a different normal from that that we were used to six or seven months ago.
"We will have to be more respectful when it comes to how we relate to other people, particularly in very confined spaces where we know this virus can easily transmit."
Sunak must not 'pull safety net from under feet' of self employed, warn MPs
Rishi Sunak has been told not to “pull the safety net from under the feet” of millions of self-employed workers amid questions over the future of the government support scheme for struggling freelancers, political correspondent Lizzy Buchan reports.
More than 110 cross-party MPs, including a number of Conservatives, appealed to the chancellor to extend aid for sole traders hit by the coronavirus crisis, such as hairdressers, personal trainers and caterers.
In a letter to Mr Sunak, the group warned that millions could be left “without work and without support” if the scheme is wound up in the coming days – as many are still forbidden from working by lockdown rules.
While Mr Sunak recently extended the furlough scheme – where the state pays 80 per cent of an employee’s wages – until October, he has not set out whether assistance for the self-employed will continue beyond the end of May.
He hinted at concerns with the project in a Twitter Q&A last week, saying it gives grants “to many people who can continue to be working at this moment because we can’t target it in the same way” as the furlough scheme.
Macmillan Cancer Support calls on government to provide clearer guidance for those shielding
Macmillan Cancer Support's policy director has called for the government to provide clearer guidance for those shielding.
Steven McIntosh told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "People got letters back in March and we've heard that people were missed off the list, they have had to negotiate their way on, that they have had texts, some people, removing them from the list without notice. GPS have told them that the period is a different length to the government.
"So there is a real lack of communication and, in terms of priorities, the guidance and support available to the people who are most at risk and most isolated should be at the top of the list and a brief mention in a press conference from the prime minister is not a substitute for working with the organisations who are most in touch with these people to get clear communications about what the next few months of total isolation means for them."
UK coronavirus deaths passes 48,000
The number of deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK has passed 48,000, according to the latest available data.
The total includes new figures published on Friday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
These figures show that 716 deaths involving Covid-19 had occurred in Northern Ireland up 22 May, and had been registered up to 27 May.
The latest figures from the National Records of Scotland, published on Wednesday, showed 3,779 deaths involving Covid-19 had been registered in Scotland up to 24 May.
And the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, published on Tuesday, showed that 42,173 deaths involving Covid-19 occurred in England and Wales up to 15 May, and had been registered up to 23 May.
Together these figures mean that so far 46,668 deaths have been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, including suspected cases.
A further 1,408 hospital patients in England who had tested positive for Covid-19 died between 16 May and 27 May, according to figures published on Thursday by NHS England - which, together with the total figure of 46,668 registered deaths, indicates the overall death toll for the UK is now just over 48,000.
Sheffield advises against reopening primary schools
Sheffield City Council has become the latest authority to advise against the partial reopening of primary schools on Monday.
The council instructed all local authority schools in the city to delay plans to open more widely until 15 June and advised all other schools to do the same.
Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, cabinet member for education and skills, said on Friday: "We have been advised by the Sheffield director of public health, Greg Fell, who has reviewed the local position and he does not feel assured that the recently announced Test and Trace programme will be sufficiently well-established and robust enough to be in place for June 1.
"He has advised that the Test and Trace system should be in place and working effectively for 14 days before schools and nurseries begin increasing their numbers."
Mr Mohamed said: "We do not yet feel assured that it is the right time and are advising our schools and nurseries to delay increasing numbers until June 15,2020.
He said: "For maintained schools, where the council is the employer, we are instructing schools not to increase the number of children attending more widely. For all other schools, academies, and nurseries in Sheffield, we are strongly advising that they also delay their wider reopening to June 15."
