UK Covid: Johnson urges people to take unlocking ‘as slowly as we can’ amid 34,471 new cases – as it happened
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6.36pm BST
It is absolutely vital that we proceed now with caution. And I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough. This pandemic is not over. This disease coronavirus continues to carry risks for you and for your family.
We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday 19 July to life as it was before Covid.
6.17pm BST
The Royal College of Nursing has said the government will regret abandoning the requirement for masks to be worn in shops and on public transport in England. In a statement its general secretary and chief executive, Pat Cullen, said:
Covid-19 remains a significant risk to the public's health and healthcare workers'. When cases are rising across the UK, we must not lose the benefits of a successful vaccine programme to rash decisions.
This disease does not disappear on 19 July and pressure will continue to be placed on all health and care services in the UK. Nursing staff need even greater protection than they have been afforded to date - they still need the higher-grade FFP3 face masks.
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