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Brits should prepare for ‘no dramatic change’ to lockdown as minister warns them to resist ‘temptation’ to leave home
BRITS should prepare for "no dramatic change" to the lockdown with a minister today warning them to resist "temptation" and stay home.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said any easing of the restrictions would be minimal and urged the nation to keep following the social distancing rules despite the 25C heatwave.
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Speaking at the Downing Street press briefing, Mr Eustice admitted there would be no big changes coming any time soon.
He said: "Any evolution of the current restrictions will be done with the utmost of caution.
"There isn’t going to be dramatic change in the short term.
"We will be cautiously making some changes where we think those can be considered and the PM will be setting out a timetable for other changes as well."
Mr Eustice also urged Brits to resist the "temptation" of breaching the restrictions during the sunny Bank Holiday.
He said: "It is absolutely essential people abide by the current restrictions stay at home and don’t succumb to the temptation to go out and about.
"We will have to wait for what the PM has to say on Sunday but I think he is going to set out a roadmap of how we can evolve from the complete lockdown we have at the moment.”
Mr Eustice also suggested it was "quite possible" for fast food restaurants to re-open safely.
He added: "A McDonald’s drive-thru is made for the social distancing situation that we are in”.
Also speaking at the conference, NHS England medical director Stephen Powis suggested Brits had been going to parks more because of the weather.
He said: "You can see there's a bit of variation in the use of parks, which is consistent with sunny weather and people going out a bit more."
It comes as Brits flocked to parks for the sunny Bank Holiday weekend and were seen out and about for VE Day celebrations.
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In the same conference he also announced a £16 million fund to provide meals for those in need.
The money will be distributed across 5,000 frontline charities and go towards Britain's poorest.
He said: "During this difficult time, our frontline food charities are doing brilliant work amid a significant increase in demand - working in refuges, drop-in services, homeless centres and other places.
"It is absolutely vital they have the resources they need and this funding will help the most vulnerable in our society get the food they need at this enormously challenging time.”
Today the UK coronavirus death toll rose to 31,241 today after 626 more fatalities were recorded.
The deadly bug has continued to spread across the country - with 211,364 cases after a 4,649 rise in the last 24 hours.
It includes a six-week-old baby believed to be the UK’s youngest victim.
The Prime Minister will meet with his cabinet on Sunday before revealing his “road map” for Britain in a televised address that evening.
He urged "maximum caution" yesterday and is expected to ease the restrictions through "baby steps".
No10 said yesterday that Boris had told the Cabinet: "We are not going to do anything that risks a second peak.
"We will advance with maximum caution in order to protect the NHS and to save lives.
"We will be guided at every step by the science and the data.
"And we will closely track the impact of any easing of the social distancing measures and we will not hesitate to tighten the rules if required."
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