Coronavirus: Pressure to give businesses 'hope' in lockdown

B&Q in Cardiff reopened its doors to the public on Tuesday

The government is facing pressure to give businesses "hope" after a warning that social distancing could last for the rest of the year.

Senior Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown said it must discuss a return to normality or risk businesses folding.

The hospitality industry has warned that maintaining social distancing until next year would be catastrophic.

Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis said there was a difficult balance to strike between health and economic concerns.

Latest figures showed a further 616 patients with coronavirus have died in the UK, taking the total number of deaths in UK hospitals to 18,738.

The Department of Health said that a further 4,583 people had tested positive for Covid-19 since Wednesday.

It comes as the government's chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, said the UK would have to live with some disruptive social measures for at least the rest of the year.

And Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has outlined ideas for the initial easing of the lockdown.

• The businesses adapting to life under lockdown

• What are the social distancing rules?

• Tory backbenchers want lockdown eased soon

Sir Geoffrey, treasurer of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that some companies are "likely to cease trading" unless they receive "some form of indication" of when they can resume business as usual.

"We have to, on behalf of the businesses of this country, begin to give them a little bit of hope as to when we might be able to get back to normality," he said.

He stressed that the next steps must be carried out "gradually".

In response, Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Lewis said certain businesses are "starting to reopen more stores" with social distancing measures in place.

DIY retailer B&Q said it would reopen stores with precautions, while housebuilder Taylor Wimpey and carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said they would also restart operations.

However, Mr Lewis said "we don't want to get ahead of ourselves" and the best way to protect the public and the NHS was to stay at home.

"One of the most damaging things for our economy would be if we came out of lockdown too early," he said, adding that this would risk a second peak.

Scotland proposals

Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish government's daily news conference that it was not possible to return immediately to how life was before the virus and that Covid-19 would be a "fact of life for some time to come".

She unveiled an initial set of proposals for the eventual easing of restrictions in the country, which suggested:

• some distancing measures will be in place until at least 2021

• children must be educated and businesses must reopen - but continuing efforts will be needed to suppress the virus

• public gatherings will still be banned and pubs will stay closed for the foreseeable future

• people with symptoms will still have to stay at home and social distancing and hand hygiene will remain important

The plan also suggested that testing, contact tracing and isolation of cases will be vital to keeping the virus under control and it might be necessary to re-impose a lockdown with little notice if there is a danger of another spike in infections.

• A SIMPLE GUIDE: How do I protect myself?

• AVOIDING CONTACT: The rules on self-isolation and exercise

• WHAT WE DON'T KNOW How to understand the death toll

• TESTING: Can I get tested for coronavirus?

• LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said it was "more likely than not" that the UK government at Westminster would spell out "possible flexing and bending" of the restrictions around the time of its next review of the lockdown on 7 May.

She said ideas were being considered that could allow for "a semblance of normal life" while maintaining social distancing.

No firm decisions have been taken yet, she added, but considerations included staggering rush hours, employers introducing shift patterns, and different year groups attending school on different days.

Meanwhile, leisure industry body Hospitality UK said reopening restaurants, bars and hotels without a plan "would be catastrophic", adding that many businesses in the sector would not be able to open with distancing measures in place.

In other developments:

• The government's scientific advisers have submitted their findings to ministers on whether the public should wear face masks - with no decision yet taken

• The New Zealand nurse credited with helping to save the prime minister's life described him as just "another patient we were trying to do our best for"

• Jenny Harries, England's deputy chief medical officer, has revealed she believes she has had coronavirus - leading her to take 10 days off work

• The earliest "realistic" point at which schools in England could start reopening would be 1 June, the head of the Association of School and College Leaders has said

• Thousands of households in England will be contacted to take part in a study to track coronavirus in the general population

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the coronavirus crisis is still "just the beginning" as she prepares the country for living with Covid-19

• The Institute for Fiscal Studies director said the UK's budget deficit is set to see "an absolutely colossal increase to a level not seen in peacetime"

• A "very tense" meeting of senior backbench Tory MPs has heard concerns the UK may no longer have much of a functioning economy unless the lockdown is eased soon, says Newsnight's Nicholas Watt