Boris is back and delivers a speech to the nation upon his return
The prime minister started this morning’s speech by saying that easing off lockdown measures would “throw away all the effort and the sacrifice of the British people and to risk a second major outbreak” of the virus, but said the UK is “beginning to turn the tide” with its efforts against COVID-19.
He added: “I ask you to contain your impatience, because I believe we are coming now to the end of the first phase of this conflict and in spite of all the suffering we have so nearly succeeded.”
“If you can keep going in the way you have, if you can help protect the NHS, then I have no doubt we will together beat this.”
Boris was discharged from St Thomas’ Hospital in London on Easter Sunday, Mr Johnson spent two weeks recovering at Chequers, his country retreat.
The Prime Minister reportedly was suffering from persistent symptoms of the coronavirus, forcing him to stay in Hospital for a week, including nights spent in an intensive care unit at St Thomas’. In this morning’s speech, the PM even admitted that “things could have gone either way” and thanked NHS staff for helping him to recover.
On his first day back the PM will chair the daily COVID-19 cabinet meeting with his senior ministers, and is also expected to hold one-to-one discussions with cabinet colleagues on the progress of their departments in his absence.
Talking about the next stage in dealing with the coronavirus’ impact on the UK economy, Boris Johnson said that the government will “begin gradually to refine the economic and social restrictions and one-by-one to fire up the engines of this vast UK economy”.
He added that this would involve “difficult judgements”, saying: “We simply cannot spell out now how fast or slow or even when those changes will be made, though clearly the government will be saying much more about this in the coming days.”
