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Coronavirus: WHO warns UK of ‘year of living differently’ as Boris Johnson set to further ease lockdown

Boris Johnson is set to announce that hospitality industry can reopen from 4 July

Matt Mathers
Tuesday 23 June 2020 12:10 BST
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Coronavirus in numbers

World Health Organisation (WHO) officials have warned “this is the year of living differently” and urged caution in the UK ahead of further easing of lockdown restrictions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Tuesday that the hospitality industry can reopen from 4 July, with the two-metre social distancing rule set to be halved.

While the UK has made progress in suppressing the virus, Dr Margaret Harris cautioned that the pandemic is not over, adding that there is a link between rising reproduction rates and the easing of lockdown measures.

In an interview on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Harris said that the pandemic is “accelerating” around the world, pointing to a surge in infections in Brazil, the US and India.

When asked what lessons the UK could learn from rising infection rates around the world, Dr Harris added: “The lesson is for people to understand this is the year of living differently.

“Not, ‘OK, it’s over’. You haven’t just been let out of school. You have done well. You have really brought down your numbers.

“The UK has brought a very difficult outbreak right down. Very good news in the last couple of days about the limitation in cases, and far, far fewer people dying.

“So, now is the moment to celebrate that by being super careful.”

Following a further review of lockdown restrictions earlier this month, Boris Johnson is expected to give pubs, restaurants and hotels the green light to reopen in 10 days’ time.

Non-essential shops in England and Northern Ireland reopened last week, while retailers in Wales resumed business on Monday.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the UK is “clearly on track” to further ease lockdown restrictions, adding that more measures would be lifted in July.

“We’re on plan, we will, of course, be setting out more details of that plan and in the plan, it states that on around July 4 we will take further measures if it’s safe to do so,” he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme.

“We talk about hospitality and outdoor hospitality in that plan but there are a whole series of other services especially where you need to be physically close to someone to carry it out like a haircut – a lot of the country does need a haircut.”

Downing Street has cautioned that the moves would be reversed if they led to a surge in new infections.

Despite the easing of lockdown measures, there is a continuing disagreement between scientists about how safe it is to lift restrictions.

The Independent Sage group – led by former chief scientific adviser Sir David King – has warned that the rate of infection is still “far too high” to ease lockdown measures.

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