“And so when we are sure that this first phase is over and that we are meeting our five tests - deaths falling, NHS protected, rate of infection down, really sorting out the challenges of testing and PPE, avoiding a second peak - then that will be the time to move on to the second phase in which we continue to suppress the disease and keep the reproduction rate, the r rate, down, but begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and one by one to fire up the engines of this vast UK economy. And on the contrary we have so far collectively shielded our NHS so that our incredible doctors and nurses and healthcare staff have been able to shield all of us from an outbreak that would have been far worse. We did not run out of ventilators or ICU beds. “And in spite of all the suffering, we have so nearly succeeded. And I ask you to contain your impatience because I believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict. But I refuse to throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak and huge loss of life and the overwhelming of the NHS. “And so I know it is tough and I want to get this economy moving as fast as I can. And yet we must also recognise the risk of a second spike, the risk of losing control of that virus and letting the reproduction rate go back over one, because that would mean not only a new wave of death and disease but also an economic disaster and we would be forced once again to slam on the brakes across the whole country and the whole economy and reimpose restrictions in such a way as to do more and lasting damage. And so yes I entirely share your urgency. “And yes I can see the long term consequences of lock down as clearly as anyone. And I know that without our private sector, without the drive and commitment of the wealth creators of this country, there will be no economy to speak of, there will be no cash to pay for our public services, no way of funding our NHS. “So let me say directly also to British business, to the shopkeepers, to the entrepreneurs, to the hospitality sector, to everyone on whom our economy depends: I understand your impatience, I share your anxiety. “And I know how hard and how stressful it has been to give up even temporarily those ancient and basic freedoms, not seeing friends, not seeing loved ones, working from home, managing the kids, worrying about your job and your firm. It is also the moment of maximum risk because I know that there will be many people looking now at our apparent success and beginning to wonder whether now is the time to go easy on those social distancing measures.įILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson applauds outside 10 Downing Street during the Clap For Our Carers campaign in support of the NHS, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, March 26, 2020. This is the moment when we can press home our advantage. “And so it follows that this is the moment of opportunity. If this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger, which I can tell you from personal experience it is, then this is the moment when we have begun together to wrestle it to the floor. “And that is how and why we are now beginning to turn the tide. We are on the brink of achieving that first clear mission: to prevent our national health service from being overwhelmed in a way that tragically we have seen elsewhere. And yet it is also true that we are making progress with fewer hospital admissions, fewer covid patients in ICU, and real signs now that we are passing through the peak and thanks to your forbearance, your good sense, your altruism, your spirit of community, thanks to our collective national resolve. And I in no way minimize the continuing problems we face. “And it is still true that this is the biggest single challenge this country has faced since the war.
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