The British public has emerged from its enforced hibernation to push strict lockdown rules to their limit this weekend as the Government c...
The British public has emerged from its enforced hibernation to push strict lockdown rules to their limit this weekend as the Government considers allowing friends and family to gather together in 'bubbles'.
People are hitting the roads again today as new data shows traffic congestion has surged from the start of the month and since the lockdown was announced.
Walking in London has picked up markedly in the last three days alone, according to Apple Map's most recent 'Covid-19 mobility trends' data.
It appears there has been a sharp increase in human traffic as the number of people walking across the country rose by around 8 percentage points on April 23 from last Saturday.
The number of people walking, driving, and using public transport networks in the UK took a nosedive in early March, as concern about the spreading coronavirus outside of China - believed to be the country of its origin - intensified and gripped the nation. It plummeted on March 24 - the day after Boris Johnson declared a 'stay-at-home' order.
But newly released figures available on Apple Maps indicates the British public are growing restless of life under lockdown as many more take to the roads and the streets.
Each weekend of April - between the 4th and the 18th - the number of people walking, driving, and 'transiting' steadily climbed, even as police forces across the country became tougher on rule-breakers.
Data from sat nav makers TomTom and the AA suggest there has been an increase in car trips around the UK this month. There are more motorists in London, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Manchester, and Reading out and about today than last week, according to TomTom.
Meanwhile, pictures this morning showed busy scenes at B&Q stores and parks, as fears of the harm done to the economy have caused businesses able to practice social distancing to open their doors to customers.
The new statistics emerge as former Chancellor Philip Hammond called on the Government to publish an exit strategy and restart the economy, urging MPs to face the 'reality' that the UK must get back to work.
In a stark message this morning, he warned the economy 'will not survive' and said the country could not afford to wait until a vaccine had become available before resuming more normal economic activity.
With Boris Johnson expected to return to Downing Street next week after recuperating from the virus, Mr Hammond said he hoped it would mark a 'clear step change' in the Government's response to the crisis.
Priti Patel today issued a rallying cry for Britons to 'stay strong' as she admitted the country was 'not out of the woods' in its fight against coronavirus.
In the daily address to the nation this evening, the Home Secretary said it was not time to lift the lockdown as the country entered its fifth weekend with restrictions.
She warned: 'Our instruction remains clear, people should stay at home, protect the NHS (National Health Service) and save lives. We know that people are frustrated but we are not out of danger. It is imperative that we continue to follow the rules.'
In the last four weeks, there has been an eight per cent increase in people out and about walking across the UK - breaching strict lockdown policy. Pictured, this graphic from Apple Maps shows a rise in people walking and driving across the UK
A spell of sunshine this morning saw people flock to the seafront in Bournemouth, Dorset
Members of the public were out exercising in the warm weather in Regents Park, London this morning
A group of five teenagers gathered by Bournemouth Pier this morning before a council worker arrived to tell the group to move on - but onlookers claim they ignore him and went for a paddle instead
Customers queue outside the B&Q Warehouse, which has reopened after more than a month's closure, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire this morning
Cyclists and walkers were out enjoying the sunshine in Battersea Park, London this afternoon
Traffic builds up on the A406 North Circular at Wembley, north London shortly before 9am this morning
Priti Patel issued a rallying cry for Britons to 'stay strong' as she admitted the country was 'not out of the woods' in its fight against coronavirus
This comes as it was revealed today that ministers are looking at whether to relax the strict 'stay at home' advice to let small groups of households 'cluster' together.
It would allow a 'bubble' of up to ten close family members to meet for meals, or enable friends to share childcare. It could also allow couples who do not live together to see each other.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she is also considering relaxing the lockdown rules.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been looking at how to start allowing non-essential businesses to reopen in a 'safe and practical way', keeping coronavirus out of shared office spaces.
McDonald's, British Steel and construction firm Persimmon were among the first companies to announce plans to reopen in May, as the daily number of new cases of coronavirus should be lower then than they are now.
Mr Hammond told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'The reality is that we have to start reopening the economy. But we have to do it living with Covid. We can't wait until a vaccine is developed, produced in sufficient quantity and rolled out across the population. The economy won't survive that long.
'But we are going to have to do it alongside the measures that are in place to protect the population from Covid. That's going to be a much more complex phase of this crisis than the initial acute phase.
'Locking everything down and keeping everything locked down is relatively straightforward.
'The challenge of how to carefully, progressively, methodically reopen protecting both health and jobs is much, much more challenging and calls for a really skilful political leadership.'
He said it was essential that businesses are told now what requirements they will have to fulfil when the time comes to reopen. 'If we are all going to have to wear face masks travelling on public transport, businesses need to know that now so that businesses that have the capacity to manufacture products like that can start planning to do so,' he explained.
'If restaurants, when they eventually reopen, are going to have to operate with many fewer tables, they need to start thinking about how they adapt their business model to be able to do that.
'At the moment, for too many businesses, they just don't know what the requirements imposed on them are going to look like and therefore what kind of preparations they need to make to think about reopening their businesses.'
The easing of lockdown rules could allow people to socialise with up to 10 of their closest family and friends. Close family members could meet for meals, or enable friends to share childcare. It could also allow couples who do not live together to see each other.
In an idea reminiscent of BT's 'Friends and Families' scheme, people would nominate a small list of those they want to be able to see, drawn from no more than one or two households. Those involved would then be able to meet for meals and other social activities.
But neither group would be allowed to mingle with others outside the 'cluster'.
Ministers are still grappling with how to enforce the new meeting system and prevent a free-for-all that could allow the coronavirus epidemic to take hold again.
A Whitehall source said: 'If we can find a way to allow a bit more flexibility without risking transmission of the disease running higher then we will do it.'
Belgium and Scotland are also looking at the idea.
Britons continue to flout lockdown rules by packing out parks across the UK as temperatures soar, in another sign that the country is seemingly no longer willing to comply with government instructions to stay indoors.
In the last four weeks, there has been an eight per cent increase in people out and about walking across the UK - breaching strict lockdown policy. And a steady increase of traffic on the roads has added to the growing unease in Downing Street that the country is becoming restless under the restrictions to everyday life.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA said: 'Many drivers are sticking to the Government advice and are only making essential journeys by car, however, this week traffic and breakdowns have crept up.
'We are concerned that some have got so bored with lockdown that they are seeking a change of scenery by getting in their car. Breakdowns are up around a fifth (20 per cent) this week and traffic is around 10 per cent higher than the beginning of the lockdown.
'We all need to adhere to the advice and stay at home. One crash can tie up the emergency services for hours and may also result in precious NHS hospital beds being taken.
'The message is still to stay home and help to save lives. Police forces have also reported some horrendous speeds too and we urge everyone to stick to the limit as a minority of drivers have been treating the roads as race tracks.'
People were out and about enjoying the warm weather on Bournemouth beach this afternoon
Police moved on people who were sitting and reading and sunbathing on Brighton beach this afternoon
People could be seen strolling along Bournemouth beach this afternoon as temperatures climbed to 14C
Cyclists, runners and walkers were out in force in Greenwich Park in south-east London this morning
Wardens were monitoring the situation in Victoria Park in London this morning, which was busy as people got outdoors
With Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to return to Downing Street next week after recuperating from the virus, Mr Hammond (pictured in May last year), said he hoped it would mark a 'clear step change' in the Government's response to the crisis
DIY Saturday: There was a huge queue outside B&Q in Bristol this morning as people get set to return to work, and carry out home and garden improvements this weekend
People line up in their cars at a drive through testing centre in the car park of Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey today
Cars queuing for the COVID 19 drive-in testing centre in Brighton & Hove Albion's American Express Community Stadium
This comes as Boris Johnson is expected to return to Downing Street on Monday to resume work part-time.
The Prime Minister has spent a fortnight at his country retreat, Chequers, after being hospitalised with coronavirus.
Allies warned he is still suffering the 'debilitating' effects of the illness, which saw him spend three nights in intensive care.
A source said Mr Johnson was likely to remain 'part-time for some time', adding: 'It will be a while before he is working 14-hour days again.'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday warned the government would not ease lockdown restrictions until ministers were certain they could prevent a deadly second wave of infection.
He said this would not be possible until the number of cases was driven 'right down'. Mr Hancock said he understood the 'economic pressures' the lockdown was causing, but warned they would be even worse if the UK suffered a second peak of the epidemic.
He told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: 'I understand those voices who are saying we should move sooner but that is not something we are going to do.'
Mr Hancock said the lockdown could not be eased until ministers have the preliminary results of an Office for National Statistics study looking at how widespread the disease is in society.
Downing Street said it was 'conceivable' this could be ready ahead of the May 7 review of the lockdown.
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith yesterday said it was time for the government to 'bite the bullet' on the issue and set out a plan for easing the lockdown.
'The UK government now needs to recognise that the time is now,' he said.
Privately ministers are gloomy about the prospect of any significant easing of the lockdown on May 7, given the need to meet five tests that include a major reduction in the number of cases and security of supply of personal protective equipment.
One insider said: 'I don't think anyone thinks we are going to pass the five tests in the next week or two.'
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she is considering relaxing the lockdown rules.
She said: 'I know from my own parents who are not seeing their grandkids just know, I understand the anguish of that.
'We're all missing seeing our loved ones so we all want to get beyond that as quickly as possible.
'Every country is going through these decisions, none of us are through this pandemic yet, but some countries are starting to look at slightly expanding what people would define as their household - encouraging people who live alone to maybe match up with somebody else who is on their own or a couple of other people to have almost kind of bubbles of people.'
She added: 'And the key thing there is, if you're seeing maybe one or two more people outside your household, it's got to be the same people on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis so you're still limiting the ability for the virus to transmit.
'Now, none of these are fixed decisions yet, but these are all the kind of things we're trying to work through.
'What we're trying to do is to do is, how do we get a semblance of normality back into our lives because the lockdown - it is essential that people stick with it just now - but it's having consequences of its own.'
Unseasonably warm weather has caused many Britons to defy ministers' instructions and head to parks, beaches and shopping centres in their droves.
Unseasonably warm weather has caused many Britons to defy ministers' instructions and head to parks, beaches and shopping centres in their droves.
This comes as fast-food giants KFC and Burger King, as well as high street coffee chain Pret, gradually reopen stores across the UK.
In signs of a Government strategy shift, B&Q has been allowed to open 14 stores to trial new social distancing measures.
Some B&Q stores have resumed trading after the DIY retailer carried out a trial reopening of 14 stores at the weekend, saying it was in a position to 'follow best practice' after seeing how other essential retailers have 'supported social distancing in their stores'.
Police chiefs have repeatedly begged the nation to obey the rules, while one force yesterday branded those flouting the lockdown as 'selfish'.
However their message has been undermined by their own officers failing to observe social distancing during Thursday's clap for carers on Westminster Bridge.
Ms Patel will this afternoon use the daily Downing Street press briefing to impress upon the public the seriousness of following the rules.
A source close to the Home Secretary told the Daily Express: 'We are seeing a worrying increase in people moving around.
'Some industries which we did not advise to close are reopening, and we welcome that provided the social distancing rules are observed.
'The vast majority of the public are still doing the right thing. However, transport use has ticked up in a way that suggests something more is going on and that has set off alarm bells.'
The grim 20,000 milestone - which also saw the number of people testing positive for coronavirus rise by 4,913 to 148,377 - came as the coronavirus lockdown continued into its fifth weekend and the Government faced calls for greater transparency over the scientific advice given to ministers on the outbreak
The total number of A&E attendances in March this year was significantly lower than the year before
Ministers have come under pressure to publish a road map out of the lockdown, but have so far remained tight-lipped.
The lack of information from Whitehall has jarred with the approach taken in Scotland by Nicola Sturgeon, who published a plan to ease restrictions after promising to treat the public 'like grown ups'.
At yesterday's Downing Street press conference, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps praised the British people for largely following the rules.
He said: 'The country has done incredibly well in adhering to social distancing and there is a danger as we go into yet another warm sunny weekend that people think that perhaps these graphs are showing that the peak is over.
'It isn't over, we're riding perhaps, we hope, a downward trend but it is by no means, no means established yet. When people ask me when will the measures, the social distancing, the stay at home measures, be altered, my answer in some ways is that some of this lies in your own hands.
'The more we adhere to it and are strict about the social distancing that is required, the faster that decision will be able to be made. But that decision will, of course, be made entirely on the advice of science and medical advice.'
Yet when the lockdown will end is still a focal point in the national conversation, and McDonald's yesterday mooted re-opening.
The fast food giant, which is already operation again in coronavirus-stricken France, is in talks about opening its 1,249 restaurants across the UK, according to reports.
The burger chain could open for drive-thru and delivery orders as early as mid-May, say the Irish Farmers Journal.
A spokesperson for McDonald's said: 'Of course we are thinking about re-opening and having those conversations – but it's unclear when that will be.'
It comes as people have been pictured packed into busy open-air food markets and parks in London, and Coronavirus tests for key workers through the Government's new booking website have run out in England and Wales for a second day in a row.
Low cost airline Wizz Air also said it would restart some flights from London's Luton Airport on May 1, becoming one of the first European carriers to begin to restore services which have been grounded during the coronavirus pandemic.
Wizz said in a statement on Saturday that cabin crew would wear masks and gloves throughout flights and distribute sanitising wipes to each passenger. Its aircraft would be disinfected overnight, it added.
Flights to several destinations in Romania, plus Budapest in Hungary, Lisbon in Portugal, and Tenerife in Spain would be amongst those to restart, said Wizz.
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