Boris Johnson says he has met three of five tests of ending lockdown but urges Brits to be patient
BORIS Johnson revealed three of his five tests of ending lockdown have been met but has urged Brits for more patience.
The PM said Britain the targets to help ease restrictions imposed during the coronavirus crisis but warned there was more to do as it emerged the government is set to meet its contact tracing targets.
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Cabinet Minister Michael Gove revealed that 17,200 tracers had been hired just days after Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said they’d only hired 1500.
It means ministers will meet the target to hire 18000 by mid-May next week.
It will help meet the government’s fifth part of the lockdown tests - avoiding a second spike of infections.
Downing Street sources told The Sun that it had met the first three tests - making sure the NHS can cope, and is now seeing a sustained and consistent fall in death rates, as well as the R rate decreasing.
The PM said: “I made clear from the outset that we can only make changes to the lockdown when it is safe to do so, guided by science.
“We set five tests, of which three have been met and progress is being made on the remaining two.”
Mr Gove said: “In the past people have seen Matt and the government set ambitious targets and they said, oh that won’t be met.
“Matt met that testing target and it is now the case that more than 17,000 people have been recruited for contact tracing so we are on course to meet that target again.
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“It’s more evidence that we have in Matt, an energetic and determined health secretary, who is throwing everything into the fight against the virus and making sure that we mobilise a united national effort.”
He said the tracers will be trained and ready to work “by the end of this month”.
He added: “A significant number of them are already trained.”
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