I don't think everybody in the country
today for the whole effort that we are
collectively making I want to thank the
amazing workers in the NHS the everybody
working in social care in every sector
food distribution transport you name it
absolutely everybody who is keeping this
country going today and I want to thank
everyone who is being forced of course
to do something differently today
everyone who didn't visit mum for
Mother's Day but FaceTime them Scotland
rang them instead
thank you for your restraint for what
you did
everybody who was forced to close a pub
or a restaurant or a gym or any other
business bar that could have done
fantastic business on a great day like
this thank you for your sacrifice I know
how tough it must be and I can tell you
once again that this government will be
standing behind you behind British
business behind British workers
employees the self-employed throughout
this crisis and the reason we're taking
these are unprecedented steps both to
prop up businesses support business I
support our economy and these preventive
measures is of course that we have to
slow the spread of the disease and to
save thousands of lives and today we've
come to the stage of our plan that I
advertised at the outset when we first
set out the the plan of the UK
government when we now have to take
special steps to protect the
particularly vulnerable you remember
that I said we wanted at the moment
would come when we needed to shield
those with serious conditions there are
probably about one and a half million in
all and in a minute Robert Genrich will
set out the plan in detail but this
shielding will do more than any other
single measure that we are setting out
to save life and that is what we want to
do also to reduce infection
and a slow the spread of the disease and
I want to say just a couple of other
things we we have to do more to make
sure that the existing measures that we
are taking are having the effect that we
want so it's crucial that people
understand tomorrow that the schools are
closed and tomorrow you shouldn't send
your child to school unless you've been
identified as a key worker and more
generally in view of the way people have
responded over the last few days to the
measures that we have set out I want to
say a bit more about how we interact out
doors and of course I want of course I
do
people to be able to go to the parks and
open spaces and to enjoy themselves it's
crucial for health mental and physical
well-being but please follow the advice
and don't think that fresh air in itself
automatically provides some immunity you
have to stay two metres apart you have
to follow the social distancing advice
and even if you think that you are
personally embalmer about there are
plenty of people that you can infect and
whose lives will then be put at risk and
I say this now on on Sunday afternoon
Sunday evening take this advice
seriously follow it because it's
absolutely crucial and as I've said
throughout this process we will keep the
implementation of these measures under
constant review and yes of course
we will bring forward further measures
if we think that is that is necessary so
always remember in following this advice
and I know how difficult it is but
always remember that each and every one
of us you are doing your bit in
following this advice you're doing your
bit to slow
the spread of the disease and the more
we collectively slow the spread the more
time we give the NHS to prepare the more
lives we will save the faster we will
get through this and always remember we
will get through this and we will beat
it and we will beat it together
so next Robert Garrick to outline that
the shielding measures that we're going
to be bringing forward in the next few
days Robert well thank you Prime
Minister and good afternoon as a nation
we're confronted with the need to make
big changes and enormous sacrifices to
our daily lives and this is especially
true today on Mother's Day when many of
us would want nothing more than to be at
home with our loved ones in person but
in recent weeks
heroic workers in the NHS in social care
our public services in local government
and many others have been shouldering
the country's burden and I think we owe
it to them and to the most vulnerable in
society to stay at home to protect the
NHS and by doing this to save lives and
as the Prime Minister said our response
from the outset to the virus has been
guided by scientific evidence and our
action plan set out the interventions
that would be required to be deployed at
the right time and so today we have to
go further and shield the most
clinically vulnerable people to help
save their lives following the chief
medical officers guidance the NHS has
identified up to one and a half million
people in England who face the highest
risk of being hospitalized by the virus
the NHS will be contacting these people
in the coming days urging them to stay
at home for a period of at least 12
weeks I know that many people will want
to know whether this applies to them
this will include people who are living
with severe respiratory conditions
specific cancers such
of the blood or bone marrow those who
received organ transplants and some
though not all of those receiving
certain types of immunosuppressant drug
treatments the full list of conditions
is now online at gov dot UK forward
slash coronavirus now I don't
underestimate what we're asking of
people it will be tough but if you are
one of these people I want to reassure
you on behalf of the government that
you're not alone you we will be with you
throughout to support you and let me set
out what we're doing and how it's going
to work this week the NHS will contact
people by letter identified as being of
higher risk of severe illness from
coronavirus this will also be followed
up where possible by text and by phone
call we'll be asking these people not to
leave home at all
to avoid face to face contact for twelve
weeks all to protect themselves I know
people will worry about what this means
for family members and for carers for
those without family and friends and
neighbors close by they'll worry about
how they'll be able to receive medicines
and essential supplies and I know people
will feel anxious about supporting their
mental health as well as their physical
health so let me address those concerns
others in the household will not be
required to adopt these protective
shielding measures for themselves
however they must follow the public
health England guidance on social
distancing carers both formal and
informal can continue to visit but again
they must follow the additional measures
set out by public health England for
people who do not have support in place
around them who don't have a network of
family and friends closeby we will be
creating a network of local
Bob's covering the whole country this
will require a major national effort in
a very short period of time medicines
will be delivered by community
pharmacist groceries and essential
household items will be delivered by
local councils and food distributors
working with supermarkets to ensure that
nobody needs to worry about getting the
food and essential items that they'll
need these parcels will be left on the
doorstep the government the food
industry community pharmacist local
councils and emergency services are
working round the clock to get this
scheme off the ground members of the
Armed Forces are already supporting this
effort including some of the finest
military planners in the world the Prime
Minister and I are very grateful to
everybody who's been involved and will
be involved playing their part in making
this happen I know that many people
watching at home will want to volunteer
once this service is established there
will be opportunities and everybody can
contribute in different ways in every
city in every town and village there's a
huge amount of work to be done and each
of us has the power to do it we need to
remember our neighbors when we shop we
need to pick up the phone for a chat
with loved ones we need to display small
acts of kindness of thoughtfulness of
love and compassion this will be a very
worrying time for people with these
health conditions but whilst more people
will be required to be by themselves at
home and that's difficult
let's guarantee that they are never
alone and when all of this is done that
we emerge as better neighbors to each
other as stronger communities and that
we are all proud of the part that we
played in this effort thank you thanks
Robert
I think
it's just to add three things yes I'm
sure there'll be some questions and I'm
happy to answer those I think first of
all just to highlight this is a hugely
complex task clinically to identify
these individuals clearly we're asking
them to take themselves out of society
for 12 weeks and that is no small ask
and the measures that you've just heard
recognize that difficult balance in
doing that we have worked with the Royal
College of General Practitioners with
NHS Digital with the Medical Royal
Colleges and with secondary care
clinicians as well and I just want to
offer my thanks to them and they will
continue to work with us over the next
week or two while we refine the
individual lists I think the second
point was just to note that for any of
the public listening who might be in
this group because we want to be as
inclusive as possible we may actually
slightly overestimate the number of
individuals and there will be
opportunity to discuss in due course
their individual conditions going
forward so it is possible that an
individual might for example receive a
letter which has been digitally
constructed because that is the quickest
way to identify individuals but we
recognize also that the the person at
the end of the digital number is an
individual living their lives and their
condition changes on a regular basis so
it may be that somebody will receive a
letter from a clinic as well this is
part of the plan to ensure that we
contact all of those who need to be in
this group and then I think the final
point I just want to make is whilst
we're asking these individuals to be
isolated very firmly many of them have
very very complex conditions or they
would not be in this group and I just
want to assure them that the normal
services which they have from clinicians
or from other care systems will continue
and on an individual basis they will
either receive care at home through more
virtual means where that's appropriate
or arrangements will be made to bring
them safely into clinical
is where they can be managed so they
should not worry that their care will
continue thank you thanks very much
Jenny let's go to some questions now
please Vicki young BBC prime minister
you've said that we're two to three
weeks behind Italy in a newspaper
article and that we need to make a
national collective effort to stop the
NHS being overwhelmed at the moment that
you're still advising people to follow
these measures rather than imposing them
and I just wondered what evidence you're
basing that on given that it's clear
that some people aren't listening and
just a quick question on the courts
they're still going to be open tomorrow
why is that first on the on the courts
quickly Viki many courts are already
using video trials using a remote
technology to do their business but
we're keeping that under constant review
and on your on your general point about
where we are in the balance of
prohibition and allowing people to to
enjoy themselves outside let's be
absolutely clear we've already taken
some very very draconian steps we've
closed the schools where we've closed a
huge swathe of the UK economy bars pubs
restaurants theaters gyms and so on a
huge quantity of of our normal daily
life has been has been totally
transformed it is very important for
people's mental and physical well-being
that they should be able to get out and
exercise if they possibly can and many
many people do not have access let's
face it to private green space where
they can do that and that's why parks
open spaces are so absolutely crucial
for our for our country and for our
society but when we do that we have to
do it responsibly and so our message to
people the message that I want to to get
over tonight because we've all seen how
people have been enjoying themselves
over a beautiful a weekend my message is
you've got to do this in line with the
advice you've got to follow the social
distancing rule keep two metres apart
otherwise if you don't do it responsible
if people
don't exercise responsibly in the parks
and green spaces then Vicki as you
suggest there is going to be no doubt
that we will have to bring forward
further measures and we are certainly
keeping that under constant review Sam
coats Skye San Coates Cadiz and Robert
Jenner ik you're going to be asking one
and a half million people to do
something completely unprecedented I
just want to ask a little bit about the
practicalities of what you're talking
about first of all are you saying that
there is a government guarantee local
government national government that
anybody who needs food and needs
medicine will be supplied it in this
group what can people expect will they
get a telephone number to call when they
get this letter who do they let know
that they've run out of things how will
it work on a practical level and are you
relying on the state or are you relying
on effectively the big society which
risks gaps opening up prime minister I
am confused by government guidance I
want to focus in on one example again
which is playgrounds so Sadiq Khan says
don't go out unless absolutely necessary
your I've got a stay at home podium
there on your podium there and the
community secretary on the telly this
morning said you can go to paint
playgrounds providing children distance
themselves from one another have you
ever taken a child to a playground and
successfully convinced a five-year-old
to stay two meters away from another
five-year-old on a piece of equipment
isn't there a reason why Ireland closed
their playgrounds and doesn't this show
how people are taking mixed messages
away from what you're saying and deputy
chief medical officer the graphs showing
that the UK has more deaths at this
stage than Italy are terrifying is there
anything that you can say for people
looking at those numbers and worrying
well the NHS will be writing to 1.5
million people these letters should
start to land on individuals door mats
from Tuesday of this coming week
the letter will give a website and a
phone number and those will be live by
the time that individuals receive the
letters they'll be able to use those
services to alert us if they feel they
don't have family friends neighbors an
existing support network to help them to
get the medicines the food and other
supplies that they need we imagine a
very large number of people will have
already the support network around them
this service is specifically designed to
step in for those people who don't have
that who are isolated and who will need
our support as a government and as a
society we're going to then be working
with local councils who've already set
up their hubs with the support of the
Armed Forces to ensure this very
well-organized mission logistically
and then we're working with supermarkets
and national food distributors to get
the product the food and supplies to
their homes
and as I say we hope that we'll be
having the first parcels arriving
towards the end of next week if
individuals need them to that time table
I don't underestimate how difficult this
is as a challenge nobody's tried to do
this before and so it is going to take
time and we hope that people will bear
with us and this will be an iterative
process the first food parcels will
inevitably be fairly generic although we
will take obviously account of people's
medical and dietary requirements in time
we hope to refine this into a more
sophisticated product which is better
for people and better responds to their
individual needs
thanks Robert and just just Sam remember
where we've been trying to listen as
absolutely scrupulous ly to the
scientific and medical advice and and
what they've always said so far is that
the health benefits of for the whole of
society of keeping the parks open and
the playgrounds open if we possibly can
outweigh the epidemiological value of
closing them but of course looking at
the way people behave at the way they
are responding we keep that under
constant constant River River
and if people can't make use of parks
and playgrounds responsible you make a
very good point about about kids but if
they can't do it in a way that observes
the the 2 meter rule then of course
we're going to have to look at at
further measures and that the general
the the general principle should be that
we should all as far as we possibly can
stay home protect our NHS and thereby
save lives and so responding to your
comments about the number of deaths I
mean obviously any deaths is is a sad
event and it's really difficult for us
to I think contemplate the fact that we
will have many more in this country just
as we have seen in other countries we
are expecting that the actions today
particularly are focused precisely on
avoiding those additional deaths that is
the main purpose of the shielding task
not the reduction in numbers but the
reduction in deaths so I think it makes
it even more important that we're taking
this action but I think there is a
general comment which I've alluded to
before in expectation about numbers
because when you start counting deaths
and the percentage I've just done a very
quick sum while I was doing this about
what our current position is and I think
if you calculated Italy's case fatality
rate now is about 10 percent and ours is
fall actually we think overall and we
still think that it should be about 1
percent and what both of these numbers
demonstrate is that the numbers that you
get changed throughout the course of an
epidemic and it changes very much on how
you count the cases as well so as you go
through a very sharp rise in numbers
which we will see going forward you have
to be careful not to be comparing too
precisely because at the moment in this
country we are counting the most
significant disease and it would look as
if our case rates our death rates are
actually increasing we know that is what
will happen so it's really just a
reminder to say we will look back in due
course
and see the true number of people who
have died from coronavirus but a direct
comparison with another country and
against individual numbers is something
that we should be very cautious of as we
go through the epidemic thanks Jenny a
Jeff Savage ITV in speaking about social
distancing and the two-meter
ruled that you've spoken about it's very
obvious from a loss of the images that
we're seeing across this weekend that a
lot of people are not adhering to that
and you've spoken about further measures
potentially being introduced could you
explain to us what you think those
further measures might be and when you
would consider implementing them and
also ITV News has heard from one doctor
who says that her Hospital is already
and running out of ventilators and that
people as young as in their 30s and 40s
are waiting to get into intensive care
and that she fears they may in fact die
before they're treated so do you believe
there are enough ventilators and how
fast a hospital is going to get more
first of all jets on ventilators we have
we think a good supply at the moment but
we need to get far far more you're
absolutely right that's why there's a
huge national effort to equip ourselves
with ventilators but with all the the
testing kids the reagents all the stuff
that we're going to need to to beat this
disease and we were but up asked you
need to say a bit more about the
particular hospital that you you you you
mentioned the threat that the threat
that was I'm I'm not I'm not aware of
that particular issue on on social
social distance in the further measures
that we we may bring in weather I don't
think it you need to use your
imagination very much to see where we
might have to to go and we will think
about this very very actively in the
next waiting for us we need to think
about the kinds of measures that we've
seen elsewhere other countries that have
been forced to bring in restrictions on
on people's movements all together now
as I say I don't want to do that because
I
try to explain the the public health
benefits the benefits to people's mental
and physical well-being that in the
sense that you can go out and it's so
important that that pleasure and that
ability is preserved but it can only
really be preserved if everybody acts
responsibly and conforms with those
principles of staying apart from one
another and social distancing I know
it's I know it's hard but that's that's
the best way forward if we can't do that
then yeah I'm afraid we're going to have
to bring forward tougher tougher
measures specifically to a hospital but
I think just to say so I think we're all
very aware that London currently and a
few other places are starting to see
very significant rises we knew this
would happen this is it's not it's not
what we want to happen but we know that
will happen so the flexing of the system
is designed to manage some of these
bumps if you like where we get a high
throughput of patients requiring
ventilation I mean we monitor beds all
the time the data I have here says that
in England only 12% of adult critical
care beds are currently occupied with
Kovac patients that will change
drastically as we go through the through
the epidemic but I'm also aware that all
hospitals have been asked to step up
their training so on a personal basis I
have a junior doctor in my family I know
she was doing ventilator training on
Friday so there are a number of
approaches to which if we're looking at
what we might say was a standard
ventilator bed what we if you're in a
hospital you would see routinely as that
that is the capacity there are flex
plans sitting behind that to boost them
using additional support so I think we
are not in a position where the country
at the moment does not have sufficient
ventilator capacity thank you we're
working very hard to get I mean to
massively tweak to increase it being no
doubt about that
Chris Smith the times I think firstly to
dr. Harris honor that the shielding
plans how confident can we be that the
NHS is is going to identify that the
right people give a known issue thing
that is already hostage ep's databases
are not sophisticated enough to do this
a lot people gonna fall through the net
or be worried unnecessarily and also
what thought has been given given the
demands for placing on people isolating
themselves when open in a period of time
that the mental health toll of this is
not itself going to be quite dangerous
for them and to the Prime Minister you
said we two weeks behind Italy two weeks
ago tomorrow Italy imposed a lockdown
you've hinted today that you are
thinking of that but given where we are
in the epidemic if not now then when
let me just say on just from taking
Jenny's earlier points about the
difficulties of comparison between
between countries but what we are trying
to do is to is to push down on that that
growth curve and to get our NHS ready
what we don't know is the effect that
the measures we have already taken we
don't know at this stage where the
measures we took ten days ago week ago
and so on whether whether they're
starting to have an effect and that's
the thing that's incalculable the moment
but we can't obviously take any any
risks with that and when you say you
know if not now when when is when is at
the moment the answer is always to be
guided by the science and there's a
point that I think people intuitively
understand about the timing of these
measures you've got to impose these
interventions in the spread of the
epidemic at the moment when they can
have the maximum effect and after all
when the epidemic is is hardly spreading
at all that's not the moment to to
impose curfews and prohibitions on
movement and so on and so forth you've
gotta wait until alas and
it's the right moment to do it and
that's always been how we've been guided
so for instance in the mess that in the
measure that we're announcing today on
shielding I think how I made it clear
right at the beginning of you that I
mean that that we wouldn't bring in
shielding until we which is the moment
of maximum protection and as you as you
rightly say psychologically quite taxing
for elderly people we wouldn't bring
that moment in until it coincided with
their moment of maximum exposure to the
disease so you try and make the two
things coincide and we will do
absolutely everything in accordance with
the advice that we get from from sage
from the CMO from the CSA about when our
measures can have the maximum impact in
in stopping the spread of the disease
but basically what people need to
understand today is that their best bet
to stop the spread of the disease
protect our NHS same lives is staying at
home if you possibly can stay at home if
you possibly can and work in reverse if
that's right so I think you mentioned
the mental health issues which are
absolutely were recognized as the Prime
Minister said if we're asking people to
stay away broadly from others for 12
weeks that's quite a large ask the
people it is obviously for their own
protection and many of them will be able
to self-identify but I'll come back to
that for mental health for the letter
that they will receive will direct them
to every mindmatters and to the NHS
mental health and well-being websites
now we recognize that a number of people
these are people of all ages obviously
people perhaps if they're older will not
be as familiar with that and that's
exactly the purpose of the hubs to
ensure that there is a net safety net
behind so that if somebody has
psychological needs asthma as well as
general daily living needs or a clinical
need they have a support system and I
suspect what is likely to happen is
community local authorities know their
communities really well they know where
their vulnerable individuals are for
whatever it be whether it be a clinical
need or a social one and
we'll be able to they'll make that
connection and the individual will be
able to support some will need very
little support at all they'll have
families who can help them but clearly
it's the most vulnerable that we need to
so that is very well recognized it's
written within the guidance and it will
come through they the hub's on the issue
of identification you are right it is a
hugely complex task these diseases are
not common they are a 1.5 million sounds
a large number but it's actually a very
small proportion of the population and
they are spread across a number of
different clinical specialties so we
have approached it by three or four
different routes so the first one is as
I said through a digital route but we
absolutely recognize that that will not
pick up for example every individual
with a condition who is having a
particular sort of immunosuppressive
treatment if that treatment is being
provided maybe not by their GP but by a
hospital specialist so we've gone down
four different routes one through that
digital element one through the clinical
reference groups who do much of the
specialized health service commissioning
work one through the Trust's and the
medical rural colleges and then finally
there is a kind of catch-all at the end
of it which is in in a couple of weeks
if you have not had contact that way
then you can always raise it with your
GP yourself
we're not keen for people to do that
initially we're pretty sure we will get
most of those people or they will
identify themselves and clearly those
GPS are working really hard on the
frontline at the moment so there is a
catch-all at the end of it and a general
practitioner is perfectly entitled to
raise the issue for any of his patients
his or her patients that that they think
are in that category so hopefully we
will we will catch everyone I would also
just like to say of course that this is
not a treatment that we're trying to
give them what we're actually saying is
do what we've asked you to do all of the
things we've said but just do them very
tightly so in in the interim phase if
they just follow the social distance in
policy tightly that's effectively what
we're asking them to do Thanks
there is a brown Daily Mail Prime
Minister people aren't acting
responsibly so when are you going to get
tougher and bringing the police and the
police yes
talked about curfew so could you talk
about what the police could do and when
I'm mr. generic people that aren't on
the list if they're still worried can
they contact and make use of these
community hubs and dr. Harris can you
talk a bit about the dangers of being
outside and if you can contract the
virus whilst you're walking outside and
should over 70s be going on sort of
strolls in the evening or should they be
staying at home thank you the answer
I've given I say as firmly as strongly
as I can to everybody that in going
outside now in taking exercise and
enjoying themselves and drawing
yourselves out of doors you've got to
take account of the medical advice
you've got social distancing and larysa
yes you're absolutely right and I mean
I've said it I've said it several times
now this afternoon if people can't do
that won't do that don't do that
then yes of course we're going to have
to bring in tougher measures we don't
want to do that of course we don't but
that may well be necessary well if I may
ask your questions well of course as you
heard from Jenny Elliott no system is
full safe there may be some individuals
who have not been caught by the various
process that we've been through although
because we hope that isn't the case if
there are people who feel it there you
fall into that category they can contact
their GP or they can contact their local
hub once that's established but for all
the reasons that Jenny set out we don't
encourage people to do that today
because we don't want to put an
unnecessary burden on GP surgeries and
their phone lines
there's also another group of people who
are otherwise vulnerable who will be
self isolating or staying at home in the
weeks and months ahead and those
individuals may not be on these lists
because they may not have a specific
clinical reason to be concerned for and
for within the shield
initiative that we're launching today
but nonetheless they may be vulnerable
they may need to support they meted that
and mainly their medicines and and food
brought to them and for them the hubs
will absolutely be there to support them
as well all sorts of other volunteering
efforts that we're encouraging as a
government in which are already taking
off in most parts of the country thanks
Robert
last question from I'm sorry so I think
you asked the question about 70s over
and going outside so number one if the
70 Nova are in the shielded groups they
should not we're saying very very
strongly they're stay at home with this
very much an enclosed group which is why
it's such a big thing to ask people to
do if you are seventeen over and are
therefore more vulnerable because of
your age or perhaps an underlying
condition with your age we are
encouraging you to stay at home we are
asking everybody but this group
particularly to cut right down on their
social contacts there's the principal
running along this and the principle of
staying at home is reduce the number of
social contacts that you have so that
applies to this group as well and we're
asking people in the the general
vulnerable group the elderly people
included in that to do that however as
we've heard with a number of these other
areas there are there is a real balance
point here
what we do not want to find is that we
grow mental health problems or we grow
other physical problems because of such
a strict imposition which is exactly the
point that the Prime Minister's making
so I think the real point here as we
keep discussing but just to put the
science behind it a virus the virus
doesn't last well outside for all sorts
of reasons around temperature UV light
and everything else so actually an
outdoor environment compared with an
indoor one is generally a safer one but
the difficulty is if people are
congregating outside or coming together
so a reasonably fit seventy year old who
has been cooped up because he's safely
isolating in a home for a number time
and wants to go for a bit of fresh air
and does so at a meet at a distance of
two meters from somebody else will
boost his mental health until feel able
then to tuck himself away perhaps for
the next 23 and a half hours quite
safely and and reduced the total number
of his social contacts so it is the
principles underlying this which are
really important I think it's those ones
that we should be trying to get out to
the public and you know and through that
encouraging people who currently are
congregating they are dangerous they are
making the outside environment
unavailable to others who will need it
and it's those individuals that we would
ask not to congregate outside and to
ensure that everybody can have just a
little bit of safe space when they need
it thank you
very clear Telegraph one question to you
prime minister is the issue of
gatherings and what size is a gathering
that you should restrict and ban and
particularly as regarding private
gatherings where you might have a group
of students who've got together for a
party how are you going to deal with
that are you going to make that illegal
and then mister gender ik just very
simple straightforward question on the
packages aisle is the food going to be
free and how will they actually order it
you know just the precise details of how
that process works so I think as we've
said in a number of these briefings
before actually the very large
gatherings you are still surrounded by a
smallish group of individuals and this
is that proximity which is the problem
but it is the social gathering as well
usually with a large one most before and
after so it was the pub the restaurant
the getting in the buses in an enclosed
environment in actual fact the
epidemiology suggests that it is quite
smallish gatherings which are actually
the most difficult so somewhere around
10 12 15 20 that sort of size so in fact
you know a large the reason we probably
all not had good Mother's days is
because having a family gathering where
people are quite intimate with each
other in terms of
the dis social distancing it's very
difficult to be in a family group when
you know each other very well and stay
two metres apart so in fact they are
probably the riskier gatherings rather
than the large ones at what we have
already asked that people do not gather
that way so what exactly the same
message is the outside which is it's
very difficult if you are if you're
living in a family unit it's we you're
in the same household but it's very
difficult to actually do that and
throughout all of this we have tried to
put in the science put in
epidemiological methods but at the end
of the day it relies on the public to
actually make it work it's not something
that you governmental medicine can do we
actually all have to do it and wash your
hands yes and on your questions to me
the letters that will go out will
provide a whole range of advice but
they'll also highlight this issue
whether you wish to be part of the
shielding arrangement for medicines and
for food you will be directed then
either to a website which will be
applicable for some people obviously
there will be others who won't want to
use that route there'll be a phone
number that you can call and on either
of those routes you'll be able to state
your preferences whether you don't have
family friends neighbors close by people
who could support you whether you need
this service and at that point you'll be
asked what your preferences would be in
terms of dietary requirements medical
conditions and so on which will then
guide us to provide the parcel to you in
the first instance the products going to
be free paid for by the extraction plan
over time we're able to refine it into a
more sophisticated offer which is more
tailored to individuals needs and we're
working with supermarkets to see if that
is possible in time then it may be a
different arrangement but to begin with
it's going to be free to ensure that
people who really need it get the
supplies as soon as possible
wrap hoppers we're going back over this
this debate that we've been having about
about public space open space and how to
to handle it I'm gonna get to the point
as making at the very beginning which is
I would have thanked the vast majority
of people who are really behaving
incredibly responsibly and following the
the guidance of the advice on on social
distancing and the difficulty of course
is that what's happening is that some
people up either through heedlessness or
whatever I'm not making it easy for us
because they are those Jenny says
congregating in a way that is likely to
to spread the disease so we actually
very carefully now about how we take
steps to correct that as I've said we
will be thinking actively over the next
few days but the best the best thing
that everybody can do if you if you're
going outside observe social distance
stay two meters apart it's not such a
difficult thing do it and we say
generally to to people you know to stay
at home that is the best way to protect
the NHS that is the best way if you
possibly can stay at home that's the
best way to save potentially many many
thousands of lives and the more we
comply now with what Jenny and others
have been saying then the faster we will
beat it and the faster we will get
through it it's not the first time
you've heard me say it but it is
absolutely true thank you all very much
see you next time thank you
you