Boris Johnson urges nation to go back to work if they can’t work from home
PRIME minister Boris Johnson urged factory workers and builders to go back to work. The PM shared the message tonight as he addressed the nation with his three-step roadmap to recovery. Mr Johnson added that workers who can’t perform jobs from home should avoid public transport “if at all possible.” The PM also said that […]
PRIME minister Boris Johnson urged factory workers and builders to go back to work.
The PM shared the message tonight as he addressed the nation with his three-step roadmap to recovery.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Mr Johnson added that workers who can’t perform jobs from home should avoid public transport “if at all possible.”
The PM also said that the government wants to ensure everyone is “safe at work” with new guidance for employers to make workplaces COVID-secure.
He said: “We now need to stress that anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, should be actively encouraged to go to work.
“And we want it to be safe for you to get to work. So you should avoid public transport if at all possible – because we must and will maintain social distancing, and capacity will therefore be limited.
“So work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from home.”
Those who now must attend work should travel their by car, on foot or via bicycle.
He added that public transport will also be following COVID-secure standards, as well as workplaces.
The government plans to lay out more plans tomorrow and later this week for stage one of the roadmap.
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS - STAY IN THE KNOW
Don't miss the latest news and figures - and essential advice for you and your family.
To receive The Sun’s Coronavirus newsletter in your inbox every tea time, sign up here.
To follow us on Facebook, simply ‘Like’ our Coronavirus page.
Get Britain’s best-selling newspaper delivered to your smartphone or tablet each day – find out more.
In a video message tonight the PM said:
- Urged Brits to get back to work if they can’t from home
- Revealed Brits would be allowed to sunbathe in parks and play unlimited sport from Wednesday – and can go on day trips
- Said anyone coming into the country by air would be forced to quarantine
- Schools will start going back from June – but only if the infection level is low enough
- But he warned that pubs, cinemas and mass gatherings would be off the cards for months to come
The rules around construction sites and builders had been unclear, with some sites staying open during the peak of the virus.
Workplaces that are allowed to reopen will have to follow strict new COVID-secure rules, such as separate entrances and exits, desks that face away from each other and possibly rotations of workforces to keep exposure to the minimum.
Mr Johnson paid tribute to key workers, such as NHS staff but also the police, bus drivers, and supermarket workers who have helped with the fight against the disease.
But the PM warned that the plans were conditional to infection rates dropping.
Most read in Money
He added: “Throughout this period of the next two months we will be driven not by mere hope or economic necessity.
“We are going to be driven by the science, the data and public health.
“And I must stress again that all of this is conditional, it all depends on a series of big Ifs.”
Visits to pubs, cinemas and gigs will be banned for months.
While anyone entering the country will have to quarantine under new rules set out by the PM.