PM will set out roadmap on Sunday to easing lockdown 'with sensible changes' in England, Dominic Raab confirms

  • Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Libby Wiener

Dominic Raab has confirmed that Boris Johnson will be unveiling the road map to ease the coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England "with sensible changes" on Sunday.

The Foreign Secretary said that the existing measures remain in place for the bank holiday weekend to limit the spread of Covid-19.

"For the moment it is really important, particularly as people look towards a warm bank holiday weekend, that we continue to follow the guidance in place at this time," he said.

He added that the prime minister would set out the roadmap at the end of the week but they may be be tightened again if the infection rate goes up.

Mr Raab said: "It’s safe to say that any changes [to the lockdown] in the short term will be modest, small and incremental, and very carefully monitored."

His comments have appeared to cause some confusion after Mr Johnson's comments during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, where the PM said he hopes some changes can come into place on Monday.

Mr Raab said the infection rate is between 0.5 and 0.9, before adding: "The virus is not beaten yet, it remains infectious and deadly."

  • ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston explains how Boris Johnson's announcement on easing of restrictions could involve several phases which are all conditional on the rate of infection

The foreign secretary also confirmed that 30,615 people have died in the UK after testing positive for Covid-19.

When asked about how the government will react to the latest figures that Covid-19 has disproportionately been affecting black adults, Mr Raab said Public Health England (PHE) is investigating what "interventions can sensibly be made" to protect frontline workers from BAME backgrounds.

Mr Raab told the Downing Street press conference: “We’re very concerned about, it’s something we take very seriously.

"Once we’ve got the advice back from them (PHE), we will know what interventions can sensibly be made."

Data suggests people from black backgrounds in England and Wales are four times more likely to die from coronavirus than people from white backgrounds. Credit: PA

The Foreign Secretary also confirmed a "very significant issue" remains in care homes, telling the Downing Street press conference: "We’ve definitely got a challenge in care homes.

"The CQC data that came out, I think yesterday, showed that overall in care homes the number of deaths was down by over 300 on the last week, so that’s positive, but there’s still a very significant issue in care homes."

Officials have been looking at how ministers solve this, with PPE, social distancing, movement into facilities and testing, he said.

The briefing has come hours after Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said the lockdown in Scotland should be extended, but people may be allowed out more than once a day to exercise.

She also called on all four UK countries to impose the same restrictions and warned "extreme caution" is needed.

Number 10 said earlier it will move with "maximum caution" when lifting coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England, as ministers look to avoid a second peak while restarting the economy.

Ms Sturgeon said "extreme caution is required" in Scotland, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to announce a way out of lockdown on Sunday.

Lockdown announcements from Downing Street do not have to be adhered to in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as health is a devolved issue.

Additionally, Ms Sturgeon said that people returning to work and opening beer gardens would be inappropriate and potentially "catastrophic".

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