Boris Johnson gathers Cabinet amid fears lockdown could get tighter

How could Boris Johnson tighten the lockdown rules in England?

Boris Johnson is said to be considering tightening the coronavirus lockdown rules in England amid a surge in cases. 

Here are some of the options Mr Johnson could consider: 

Curbs on click and collect

At the moment non-essential shops are allowed to offer click and collect services but there are concerns that this still results in too much interaction between different households. The Government could opt to ban non-essential shops from offering click and collect services, restricting it to just supermarkets and other essential shops. Nicola Sturgeon said today she is considering such a move in Scotland. 

Takeaways

Restaurants are not allowed to physically open during lockdown but they are allowed to offer takeaway food. However, there are rising worries that picking up takeaway food is also leading to too many households mixing while they wait for food to be prepared. Rules could therefore be tightened to stop people waiting inside restaurants. Ms Sturgeon also said this is under consideration in Scotland.  

Closing more work places

All workers who can work from home have already been instructed to do so. But rising case rates could prompt ministers to close workplaces which cannot shift to home working. It is thought estate agents and construction sites could be targeted with orders to shut down in a move which could have devastating consequences for jobs and the economy.

Bigger fines

The Government is stepping up its efforts to enforce the current rules, with the police now more likely than ever before to hand out fines to rule breakers. The value of the fine could be increased to act as a bigger deterrent.

Britain today confirmed another 1,243 deaths from coronavirus and more 45,533 positive tests, amid fears that Boris Johnson could tighten lockdown restrictions even further — even though official data suggests that infections have started to fall. 

Home Secretary Priti Patel called the daily death toll — the second worst of the pandemic — ‘horrifying’ as she revealed 35,075 infected patients are now in hospital, which is almost twice the figure recorded during the darkest spell of the UK’s first wave last spring. 

In a glimmer of hope that Britain may not need further measures to control the outbreak, figures revealed the daily infection number has dropped week-on-week for the third day in a row. The 45,533 cases today is a drop of 25 per cent from this time last week and brings the average for the past seven days down with it, to 55,653 per day from 57,851 yesterday.

And Department of Health data also suggested the NHS vaccination drive is continuing to pick up pace after its sluggish start, with another 165,000 doses added onto today’s count from yesterday. More than 2.4million Brits have now had their first dose. 

Number 10 has faced the prospect of having to tighten the screw even further on England’s lockdown, in a last-ditch attempt to try to thwart the spread of the super-infectious new variant. 

The Prime Minister today held a virtual meeting with his senior team as they considered their next move, with takeaways, click-and-collect services and the allowance for meeting up one-on-one to exercise thought to be next in the firing line. No10 said Mr Johnson ‘re-iterated the need to bring the transmission rate of the virus down given the pressure that the NHS now faces’. 

Sources told MailOnline the PM hopes to avoid going further this week, with the effects of England’s third national lockdown only just starting to feed into the daily infection figures. But ministers have made clear they are ready to get even tougher, with leading figures on SAGE pushing for a three metre social rule distancing rule, and threats to axe the loophole allowing people to exercise with a friend from another household. 

Nicola Sturgeon said today that she was mulling harsher limits on click and collect shopping in Scotland, as well as tightening the rules on takeaways. She is expected to announce any changes tomorrow.

The Government has been desperately pleading for people to limit their contacts and stay at home as the health service struggles to cope with the volume of Covid patients and police ramp up enforcement of the brutal restrictions. 

Ms Patel used this evening’s TV conference, during which she was flanked by the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, and NHS London’s medical director, Dr Vin Diwakar, to plead with people to follow the rules. 

She and Mr Hewitt said most people had been abiding by lockdown rules but they were still facing ‘egregious’ violations by some, and that police patrols would be stepped up and officers would become stricter about fines as they try to keep order on Britain’s streets.

Mr Hewitt also said that people refusing to wear masks on public transport should ‘expect a fine’, as he warned officers would no longer ‘waste time’ trying to reason with people. He revealed that forces across the UK have so far issued almost 45,000 fixed penalty notices to people breaking lockdown rules. 

Priti Patel used this evening's TV conference, during which she was flanked by the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, Martin Hewitt, and NHS London's medical director, Dr Vin Diwakar, to plead with people to follow the rules

Priti Patel used this evening’s TV conference, during which she was flanked by the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, and NHS London’s medical director, Dr Vin Diwakar, to plead with people to follow the rules

Boris Johnson (pictured taking Cabinet today) is under pressure from members of the Sage scientific advisory panel to increase the social distancing gap

Boris Johnson (pictured taking Cabinet today) is under pressure from members of the Sage scientific advisory panel to increase the social distancing gap

Mr Johnson held a virtual meeting with his senior team as they consider the next move in the crisis wreaking havoc on the country

Mr Johnson held a virtual meeting with his senior team as they consider the next move in the crisis wreaking havoc on the country

People queue outside Hornchurch library in the London Borough of Havering for their Covid-19 vaccination today

People queue outside Hornchurch library in the London Borough of Havering for their Covid-19 vaccination today

Vaccinations in progress at the Millennium Point centre in Birmingham today

Vaccinations in progress at the Millennium Point centre in Birmingham today

The distance was set at two metres in March after experts said coronavirus was up to ten times more transmissible at one metre than at two. Now experts want the public to maintain the distance on public transport, in supermarket lines and while out and about

The distance was set at two metres in March after experts said coronavirus was up to ten times more transmissible at one metre than at two. Now experts want the public to maintain the distance on public transport, in supermarket lines and while out and about

Nearly 2.7million vaccine doses have been administered across the UK, according to government figures from last night

Nearly 2.7million vaccine doses have been administered across the UK, according to government figures from last night

In another ominous sign this morning, Mr Johnson tweeted saying that 'meeting others from outside your household or support bubble puts you and others at risk of serious disease'

In another ominous sign this morning, Mr Johnson tweeted saying that ‘meeting others from outside your household or support bubble puts you and others at risk of serious disease’

Mask flouters on tubes, buses and trains WILL be fined, police chief warns

National Police Chiefs' Council chairman Martin Hewitt blasted rulebreakers who have 'no regard' for the safety of others

National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt blasted rulebreakers who have ‘no regard’ for the safety of others

People refusing to wear masks on public transport should ‘expect a fine’, a police chief warned tonight as he warned officers would no longer ‘waste time’ trying to reason with people.

National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt blasted rulebreakers who have ‘no regard’ for the safety of others as he outlined some of the situations cops have had to deal with.

He told the Downing Street press conference that forces across the whole of the UK have so far issued almost 45,000 fixed penalty notices to people breaking lockdown rules.

The UK today confirmed another 1,243 deaths from coronavirus and 45,533 positive tests as Boris Johnson gathered his Cabinet to discuss tightening England’s lockdown.

Mr Hewitt outlined a series of recent examples of ‘irresponsible behaviour’ – including a boat party for paying guests in Hertfordshire with more than 40 people, a Surrey house party whose host tried to claim it was a business event and a minibus full of people from different households travelling from Cheltenham into Wales for a walk.

He said: ‘Organising parties or other large gatherings is dangerous, selfish and totally irresponsible in light of the current threat that we face. Organisers will be fined. But so too will the people who choose to attend.

‘Not wearing a face covering on a bus or a train is dangerous. It risks the lives of other travellers including those critical workers who must continue to use public transport to do their important work. So on those systems, unless you are exempt, you can expect a fine.’

 

On another day of chaos for Britons battling the worst crisis for a generation:

  • Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned furlough is masking unemployment and the true rate could be 6.5 per cent not 4.9 per cent;
  • The government is facing more pressure to make the vaccination programme 24-hours and start giving more frontline workers jabs;
  • Matt Hancock has denied there is a national oxygen shortage as the strain on the NHS increases but admitted patients might have to be moved to where there are supplies; 
  • One in every three deaths in England and Wales was linked to coronavirus in the final days of 2020, official figures revealed today as a separate analysis claimed the virus was behind the sharpest rise in fatalities since 1940;
  • Downing Street has admitted pictures of the random contents in some free school meal food parcels are ‘completely unacceptable’ after the issue was highlighted by Marcus Rashford;  
  • Seven vaccination hubs have come into use, including London’s ExCeL and Birmingham’s Millennium Point;
  • Derbyshire Police has cancelled £200 fines for two women penalised for driving five miles to go for a walk;
  • Nearly a quarter of care home residents have received their first shot of Covid vaccine, with nearly 2.7million doses now administered across the UK;
  • Hospitals started rationing oxygen as it emerged that one in four coronavirus patients is under 55.

A senior No10 source said ministers had been looking at ‘options’ for tightening lockdown at the weekend.

But they said the focus was on ‘enforcement’, suggesting they will wait for data to come through from the tightenings on Boxing Day and the national lockdown, which began on January 4.

‘Two to three weeks is the lag in terms of cases and hospitalisations,’ the source said.

The source said that Ms Sturgeon looked set to act because of ‘escalating’ cases in Scotland, albeit from a lower level, but suggested there had been early signs of a ‘flattening’ in London and other key areas. 

Matt Hancock hinted at a crackdown on exercising with one other person at the Downing Street briefing last night, saying the exception was being abused to socialise.

In another ominous sign this morning, Mr Johnson tweeted saying that ‘meeting others from outside your household or support bubble puts you and others at risk of serious disease’. 

However, in a round of interviews policing minister Kit Malthouse risked muddying the message by saying a 70-mile cycle ride would count as ‘staying local’ under the lockdown rules.

The comments came after Mr Johnson faced a backlash for cycling with his security detail in the Olympic Park over the weekend – seven miles from Downing Street. 

There is also fresh confusion after No10 sources insisted it is not against the rules to sit on park benches, but only for a ‘short pause’ during exercise. 

Mr Johnson warned yesterday that ‘complacency’ among the public could plunge the country into a deeper crisis at what was already a ‘very perilous moment’. 

PM is given March deadline by Tory lockdown sceptics  

Boris Johnson has been given a March 8 target by Tory lockdown sceptics to start easing coronavirus curbs.

Former chief whip Mark Harper, chairman of the Tory backbench Covid Recovery Group, said restrictions should not remain in place for ‘a second longer’ once the vaccine has protected priority groups.

Around 15 million people are expected to be vaccinated by mid-February, covering care home residents, the over-70s, clinically extremely vulnerable people and frontline health and care staff.

Mr Harper suggested that once they had received their jab – and it has been given time to become effective – there should be no excuse for keeping England’s national lockdown in place.

He said that ‘like the disease, lockdowns and restrictions cause immense harm’.

‘So for today’s progress to really mean something to the millions of people across the country who are doing the right thing and obeying the law, the Government must urgently set out exactly how today’s progress begins to translate into a return to normal life for us all and show a clear exit strategy – a route back to freedom.’

With a lag of three weeks between the vaccine being administered and offering its full protection, Mr Harper said ‘if we hit the crucial February 15 deadline, the four top-risk groups will have immunity by March 8’.

‘At that point – once all the key groups have become immune to Covid – what possible reason could there be for keeping severe restrictions in place a second longer?

The warnings came amid mounting Government concern that the third lockdown may fail to bring the latest spike in coronavirus infections under control.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said Britain was ‘now at the worst point of this epidemic’ and urged people to stop seeing friends and family, even in the limited circumstances still allowed, saying every ‘unnecessary’ contact risked spreading the virus.

The only assurances so far offered are that support bubbles will remain in place and nurseries can stay open. 

According to the Telegraph, a ‘Covid O’ subcommittee meeting on Sunday looked at a wide range of possible steps including requiring face masks everywhere apart from ‘private dwellings’.

Other proposals included closing more workplaces, such as estate agents, where staff can work from home.

House moves could only be permitted where ‘necessary’. 

And the use of collection services for restaurants and nonessential retailers could be scaled back. 

Downing Street sources have insisted that the focus at the moment is on tougher enforcement and policing, rather than new rules. 

But speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily briefing, Ms Sturgeon said her Cabinet had also been looking at further restrictions.

She said they talked about ‘whether there are any areas – takeaway, click and collect services being two examples – where we think there is a need to further tighten restrictions to reduce the occasions and reasons for people to be out of their homes at the moment’.

Ms Sturgeon added: ‘It may not be about saying you cannot have takeaway at at all, but do we need to tighten up how that operates just to limit the potential for people coming together inside.’

She said it might not be that click and collect was stopped ‘altogether’.

‘But if we are saying to people right now you shouldn’t be out of your home for shopping unless it is essential then do we need to have click and collect for non-essential services instead of having that by delivery and is restricting that just reducing again the interactions?’ she added. 

The First Minister will outline any changes to the Scottish Parliament tomorrow.

She said she had some optimism over signs of case numbers stabilising north of the border, but said there may not be any easing of lockdown restrictions ‘as soon as the end of January’.

Mr Johnson has been given a March 8 target by Tory lockdown sceptics to start easing coronavirus curbs.

Former chief whip Mark Harper, chairman of the Tory backbench Covid Recovery Group, said restrictions should not remain in place for ‘a second longer’ once the vaccine has protected priority groups.

Around 15 million people are expected to be vaccinated by mid-February, covering care home residents, the over-70s, clinically extremely vulnerable people and frontline health and care staff.

Those groups accounted for 88% of fatalities in the first wave and the Government is in a race against time to protect them with a first dose of vaccine.

Sturgeon hints at tighter rules in Scotland 

Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that tighter restrictions in Scotland could be announced tomorrow. 

Speaking at her daily briefing, the First Minister said her Cabinet had met to discuss further restrictions.

She said they talked about ‘whether there are any areas – takeaway, click and collect services being two examples – where we think there is a need to further tighten restrictions to reduce the occasions and reasons for people to be out of their homes at the moment’.

Ms Sturgeon added: ‘It may not be about saying you cannot have takeaway at at all, but do we need to tighten up how that operates just to limit the potential for people coming together inside.’

Click and collect may not be stopped ‘altogether’, she said, but it was being considered if it should remain for non-essential services.

The First Minister will outline any changes to the Scottish Parliament tomorrow.

Mr Harper suggested that once they had received their jab – and it has been given time to become effective – there should be no excuse for keeping England’s national lockdown in place.

More than 2.3 million people have so far received a jab and Mr Harper said achieving the mid-February goal must remain the ‘central, overriding focus’ for ministers.

He said that ‘like the disease, lockdowns and restrictions cause immense harm’.

‘So for today’s progress to really mean something to the millions of people across the country who are doing the right thing and obeying the law, the Government must urgently set out exactly how today’s progress begins to translate into a return to normal life for us all and show a clear exit strategy – a route back to freedom.’

With a lag of three weeks between the vaccine being administered and offering its full protection, Mr Harper said ‘if we hit the crucial February 15 deadline, the four top-risk groups will have immunity by March 8’.

‘At that point – once all the key groups have become immune to Covid – what possible reason could there be for keeping severe restrictions in place a second longer?

Mr Johnson is facing growing pressure to launch round-the-clock vaccinations as ministers ‘race against time’ to get jabs in arms.

Labour has demanded the Government ‘sorts out’ a 24/7 operation despite No10 claiming there is no ‘clamour’ for appointments after 8pm.

Tory MPs are urging ministers to ‘look carefully’ at whether the hours can be extended while some have said there is ‘no excuse why it shouldn’t be 24/7’.

Armed police were on duty at Waterloo Station today as the government considers tightening the lockdown rules again

Armed police were on duty at Waterloo Station today as the government considers tightening the lockdown rules again

The concourse was all-but deserted at Waterloo as the public gets used to the draconian restrictions being in place

The concourse was all-but deserted at Waterloo as the public gets used to the draconian restrictions being in place

People waiting to receive their vaccines doses in Times Square, Newcastle today

People waiting to receive their vaccines doses in Times Square, Newcastle today

The vaccine rollout was continuing in Newcastle today as the government tries to ramp up the numbers protected

The vaccine rollout was continuing in Newcastle today as the government tries to ramp up the numbers protected

Pressure mounts for 24-hour vaccinations 

Boris Johnson is facing growing pressure to launch round-the-clock vaccinations as ministers ‘race against time’ to get jabs in arms.

Labour has demanded the Government ‘sorts out’ a 24/7 operation despite No10 claiming there is no ‘clamour’ for appointments after 8pm.

Tory MPs are urging ministers to ‘look carefully’ at whether the hours can be extended while some have said there is ‘no excuse why it shouldn’t be 24/7’.

The PM has promised that around 13million of the most vulnerable Britons will be vaccinated by mid-February.

The aim is for everyone over the age of 50 to be offered a Covid jab by the end of April.

But doubts have been raised about the target with numbers standing at around 2.7million as of yesterday, and there are also calls for frontline workers such as teachers and police officers to be pushed up the priority list.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick today said her officers should be ‘properly recognised’ in the prioritisation list for vaccines as she warned her colleagues are ‘not immune to the virus’.

The latest ambitious timetable means vaccinating 32million Britons – six in ten adults – within 16 weeks. Two million jabs will have to be given every week in the ‘greatest logistical challenge of our time’.

A 47-page masterplan published last night said the nation’s remaining adults – another 21million – would be inoculated by autumn.

The PM has promised that around 13million of the most vulnerable Britons will be vaccinated by mid-February.

The aim is for everyone over the age of 50 to be offered a Covid jab by the end of April.

But doubts have been raised about the target with numbers standing at around 2.7million as of yesterday, and there are also calls for frontline workers such as teachers and police officers to be pushed up the priority list.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick today said her officers should be ‘properly recognised’ in the prioritisation list for vaccines as she warned her colleagues are ‘not immune to the virus’.

The latest ambitious timetable means vaccinating 32million Britons – six in ten adults – within 16 weeks. Two million jabs will have to be given every week in the ‘greatest logistical challenge of our time’.

A 47-page masterplan published last night said the nation’s remaining adults – another 21million – would be inoculated by autumn.

Mr Malthouse insisted this morning that Mr Johnson’s decision to go cycling in the Olympic Park seven miles from Downing Street was ‘within the rules’ and legal, saying the PM’s Sunday ride in east London was fine because ‘local is open to interpretation’ and that a 50 to 70 mile bike ride starting and ending at home would also be fine in most cases.

He said: ‘I understand that this is a sort of scotch egg moment where people are searching for the loopholes and the problems in the law. Unfortunately we can’t legislate for every single dynamic of human existence. If you can get there under your own steam and you are not interacting with somebody … then that seems perfectly reasonable to me’.

A No10 spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister acted in accordance with the Covid guidance while he was exercising.

‘We have always trusted the public to exercise good judgment throughout the pandemic when we have asked them to exercise locally.’

The spokesman did not say how far someone can travel to take exercise and sidestepped a question on whether people can drive or take public transport to exercise.

Mr Johnson’s press secretary Allegra Stratton, asked if Mr Johnson regretted his bike ride, said: ‘He will … be doing bike rides again – you all know how much he loves his bike.’

It came as Dame Cressida said police will move ‘swiftly’ to fine people who blatantly ignore coronavirus lockdown rules, revealing officers in London had issued more than 300 fixed penalty notices in the space of 24 hours for ‘flagrant’ violations of the regulations.

And in a veiled criticism of the PM’s Olympic Park bike ride Dame Cressida Dick said: ‘For me, a reasonable interpretation of that is that if you can go for your exercise from your front door and come back to your front door’, adding: ‘The public are looking to all of us as role models’.

No 10 is yet to confirm if Mr Johnson cycled to the Olympic Park himself or was conveyed to east London by car as some Tory MPs complained that too much power is being handed to police.

Dame Cressida has also asked the Government to enshrine the definition of ‘local’ in law to make it easier to police as it emerged that officers in Devon and Cornwall are even using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to make sure only essential journeys are being made during lockdown – and hunt down people travelling to second homes.

70-mile bike rides are ‘fine’ says minister 

People in England can go on 70 mile bike rides but only sit on park benches ‘for a short pause’, should think carefully about meeting a friend for a coffee while walking and must never go to the supermarket without a mask, ministers said today.

Policing Minister Kit Malthouse also accused the public of ‘searching for the loopholes in the law’ by flouting the third national lockdown – comparing it to pubs serving scotch eggs to stay open last year – and insisted that it is the police’s job to scrutinise where people are going and who they are meeting outdoors.

Amid widespread confusion about whether people are allowed to sit on park benches during their daily exercise, No10 sources also told MailOnline a ‘short pause’ during the course of exercise would be ‘reasonable’. However, they stressed it would be unlawful to go out ‘just to sit in public’.

But Mr Malthouse insisted Boris Johnson’s decision to go cycling in the Olympic Park seven miles from Downing Street was ‘within the rules’ and legal, saying the PM’s Sunday ride in east London was fine because ‘local is open to interpretation’ and that a 50 to 70 mile bike ride starting and ending at home would also be fine in most cases.

He said: ‘I understand that this is a sort of scotch egg moment where people are searching for the loopholes and the problems in the law. Unfortunately we can’t legislate for every single dynamic of human existence.’

Hampshire Police are using drones to watch people visiting the waterfront at Southsea to ensure they are social distancing and not meeting in groups.

The Daily Mail has been told that Leading members of the Sage scientific advisory panel want the one-metre plus rule raised to ‘two metres plus’.

In practice this would change the limit to three metres – nearly 10ft. The drastic proposal emerged as a furious Matt Hancock denounced individuals who flout social distancing rules.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference the Health Secretary said that he would ‘not rule out further action if needed.’

He was backed by Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, who sits on Sage and said it was time to ‘double down’ on Covid curbs – including outdoor contact.

Asked if a three-metre rule would be imposed in England, a Downing Street spokesman said last night: ‘There are no current plans to change social distancing rules. However, everything is kept under review.’ 

Several members of Sage say the lockdown needs to be even tougher than the first one in March last year.

The idea of a Chinese-style ban on residents leaving their homes was raised at one meeting.

Ministers are furious that some people have been using their right to daily exercise simply as an excuse to meet friends for a coffee in the park.

One source said: ‘If it means limiting people to a single one-hour walk on their own once a week that is what we must do. We cannot let a few selfish idiots put the whole country in danger.’

It is feared that the failure to observe the restrictions is fuelling the number of deaths and risks hospitals becoming overwhelmed.

Increasing the social distancing rule to three metres is seen as one way of stopping the spread of the new variant of the virus, which can be passed on more easily.

Britain yesterday recorded a further 529 Covid deaths - marking a 30 per cent rise on the 407 reported on the same day last week. It is also the deadliest Monday since April 20 when 570 people lost their lives

Britain yesterday recorded a further 529 Covid deaths – marking a 30 per cent rise on the 407 reported on the same day last week. It is also the deadliest Monday since April 20 when 570 people lost their lives

In a round of interviews this morning policing minister Kit Malthouse risked muddying the message by saying a 70-mile cycle ride would count as 'staying local' under the lockdown rules

In a round of interviews this morning policing minister Kit Malthouse risked muddying the message by saying a 70-mile cycle ride would count as ‘staying local’ under the lockdown rules

Supermarkets have said they are toughening up their stance on wearing masks. Pictured, New Cross in South East London today

Supermarkets have said they are toughening up their stance on wearing masks. Pictured, New Cross in South East London today

What are the government’s rules on taking exercise? 

You should minimise time spent outside your home, but you can leave your home to exercise. 

This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.

You can exercise in a public outdoor place:

  • by yourself
  • with the people you live with
  • with your support bubble (if you are legally permitted to form one)
  • in a childcare bubble where providing childcare
  • or, when on your own, with one person from another household

This includes but is not limited to running, cycling, walking, and swimming. 

Personal training can continue one-on-one unless everyone is within the same household or support bubble.

Public outdoor places include:

  • parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, forests
  • public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them)
  • the grounds of a heritage site
  • playgrounds

Opponents of the move say it would have little impact, cause more confusion and be a logistical nightmare.

Two-metre signs have been painted on pavements across the nation, with similar notices found in tens of thousands of shops, factories, offices and public places.

Changing them all would add to the soaring cost of fighting the pandemic.

Supporters claim the benefit in saving lives and protecting the NHS means the move is worth it. They argue it is a response to the new variant which is thought to be up to be 70 per cent more transmissible.

If it goes ahead it would be the Government’s third policy on social distancing.

The distance was set at two metres in March after experts said coronavirus was up to ten times more transmissible at one metre than at two.

But it was reduced to ‘one metre plus’ in July after the first lockdown – mainly to make it easier for restaurants and cafes to reopen.

A ‘two metre plus’ rule would in practice mean staying three metres apart – nearly 10ft – unless steps were taken to limit the danger of transmission, such as screens.

Social distancing gaps vary around the world.

In China, Hong Kong and Singapore, which were successful in controlling the pandemic, the gap was one metre.

However, they imposed other, far stricter, rules including curfews. Spain and Canada followed the two-metre rule.

The three other home nations have different versions of the two-metre rule.

In Scotland people are advised to keep two metres apart and in Wales they are told to stay two metres apart unless it is not practical, with young children exempt.

The gap in Northern Ireland came down to one metre but is two again.

Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia said: ‘Risk declines the further you are away from someone.

‘So three metres will reduce risk somewhat compared to two metres – but it is difficult to say how much and whether that would make a big difference. I suspect the main issue is people not sticking to the two-metre rule.’

Mr Hancock warned against trying to ‘push the boundaries’ on exercise, adding: ‘If too many people break this rule we are going to have a look at it. Don’t say you are exercising if really you are just socialising.’

He said the two-metre rule had to be obeyed, not seen ‘as a limit to be challenged’. 

Shortly after Mr Hancock’s Downing Street press briefing on Monday, the PM released a short video filmed during his visit to the Ashton Gate vaccination centre in Bristol.

Mr Johnson faced a backlash for cycling with his security detail in the Olympic Park over the weekend - seven miles from Downing Street

Mr Johnson faced a backlash for cycling with his security detail in the Olympic Park over the weekend – seven miles from Downing Street

In it, he urged Britons to ‘follow the guidance, stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives’ as Covid continues to spread rapidly in several parts of the country.

Britons shouldn’t ‘lose focus on the pandemic’ as coronavirus is ‘still causing huge, huge problems for our NHS’, Mr Johnson added. 

Mr Hancock also used the briefing to defend the PM after he was spotted cycling in the Olympic Park seven miles from Downing Street in apparent breach of government advice.

The Health Secretary said it is allowed to cycle that distance from where you live to take exercise, despite also insisting that people must ‘stay local’.

But he also warned that rules on two people from different households being able to exercise outdoors together could be torn up if people keep abusing them.

‘If too many people keep breaking this rule we are going to have to look at it but I don’t want to do that,’ Mr Hancock told a No10 briefing yesterday evening.

The PM was seen wearing a hat and a face mask on his bike at the venue seven miles away from Downing Street yesterday afternoon.

A source told the Evening Standard that Mr Johnson was exercising, accompanied by his security detail. 

Extraordinarily the premier is said to have ‘noted how busy’ the park was and remarked on it at a meeting later.

Official Government guidance says exercise should be limited to once a day and ‘you should not travel outside your local area’. 

Two women were fined £200 each by Derbyshire Police for driving five miles from their home for a walk, while in Whitby officers have slammed people for going sledging.

A witness said: ‘He was leisurely cycling with another guy with a beanie hat and chatting while around four security guys, possibly more, cycled behind them.

‘When I realised the person looked like Boris I cycled past them to hear his voice and be sure it’s him. It was definitely Boris.

‘Considering the current situation with Covid I was shocked to see him cycling around looking so care free,’ added the woman, who asked not to be named.

Also considering he’s advising everyone to stay at home and not leave their area, shouldn’t he stay in Westminster and not travel to other boroughs?’

The PM’s spokesman was unable to give any information yesterday on why Mr Johnson had gone to Stratford and why it was within the rules.  

It is also not clear whether Mr Johnson was driven to the park with his bike, or cycled the whole way there and back. 

Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said: ‘Government guidance on travelling to exercise is as clear as mud. 

‘People are travelling hundreds of miles to the Lake District while others are afraid to drive 5 minutes to the local park. 

‘I’ve written to the Prime Minister, asking him to set out clear guidance once and for all.’

In a video shared to the PM’s official Twitter account yesterday evening – which features footage of Mr Johnson’s visit to Bristol on Monday- the PM heaped praise on the Government’s vaccine programme.

But he warned Britons that it should not lead to complacency, as the new Covid variant is still spreading rapidly. 

Mr Johnson said: ‘Hi folks. I am here at this amazing Bristol mass-vaccination centre in a football stadium and it’s one of the 50 that we are going to be rolling out by the end of the month to help all the 1,000-plus GP surgeries, the 233 hospital sites, plus the 200 pharmacies.

‘And that’s, of course, just a start that we’re using to dispense the vaccine.

‘As I speak to you this morning I think we’ve done about 2.4 million jabs, 2 million people in the country already who have been vaccinated, and we will be massively ramping that up in the course of the next few weeks as we get up to, we hope, 15 million by the middle of February.

‘And that’s a very ambitious programme, we’re confident we can do it. 

‘But, as we get the jabs into people, it’s incredibly important that we don’t lose focus on the pandemic that is still, alas, surging in so many parts of the country, still filling our hospitals with Covid patients, still causing huge, huge problems for our NHS.

‘So everybody has got to follow the guidance. Stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.’

Along with his video, the PM tweeted: ‘As we get jabs into arms, we must not lose sight of the state of the pandemic – which is putting huge pressure on our NHS. 

‘So, please follow the rules and stay home to protect the NHS, and save lives.’   

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk