Boris Johnson urges staggered work start times to avoid rush hour after coronavirus lockdown

Millions of commuters will be told by Boris Johnson to change their “go to work” times to lengthen the rush hour as the country fires up its economic engines after lockdown.

Construction workers could be asked to set their alarms an hour earlier during the summer, while parents doing the school run and some office workers would be told to go in after 9am.

The move to stagger start times follows fears that public transport will be swamped because carriages are only capable of carrying 15 per cent of their usual passenger numbers due to social distancing.

The Prime Minister called a special Cabinet meeting this morning to review the pandemic lockdown rules and will set out plans to get Britons moving again in a landmark address to the nation on Sunday. Some rules are expected to be relaxed but others made tougher.

Sunbathing in the park may be allowed for the first time since lockdown began, but a two-week quarantine for people arriving in the UK is expected to be extended to all, including British citizens coming home from abroad.

Mr Johnson will also finally change official advice and encourage face coverings for all passengers on the London Underground and buses, following advice that it could slow the spread of Covid-19.

However, a Cabinet minster warned the public “don’t get carried away” by speculation that lockdown is ending. Brandon Lewis said social distancing remains vital and warned that any second peak of infections could be “deadlier” than the current wave, which has caused 30,076 confirmed deaths so far in Britain.

Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Lewis told BBC Breakfast: “One thing that will be at the forefront of our minds is ensuring that we do not see a fast, deadly, even deadlier … second peak to this virus.

“As we move forward we are going to have to make sure that we have some caution around making sure we are protecting people’s health.”

Among key areas where lockdown rules are expected to be modified:

  • The “Stay at Home” slogan will be dropped from government press conferences, with a new message emphasising precautions when outside.
  • Families may be allowed to drive to the countryside for walks and picnics, provided they take precautions and do not cause crowding. Beaches are expected to remain off-limits, however, for fear of overcrowding.
  • The rules limiting exercise to once a day will be dropped, allowing unlimited outings for walking, running and cycling. Gyms and children’s playgrounds may stay closed for months, however, because of the risk of spreading the virus by touching equipment.
  • Courts will get back to work with social distancing for juries and witnesses “in the next few weeks”, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said. “We’ll have to use, for example, two courts where we would have used one in the past, so that jurors can retire into a safe space,” he told ITV’s Peston show.
  • Offices can reopen provided managers carry out risk reviews and introduce strict social distancing measures, including ending hot-desking keeping staff two metres apart, with masks, visors and screens used where people cannot avoid brief closer contact. However, anyone who can work from home should do so.
  • Open-air industries like construction, many of which are already working, will be encouraged to go back, subject to social distancing.
  • Garden centres will be allowed to operate subject to social distancing. Non-essential stores may reopen soon but many will have to sell on a click-and-collect basis.

Downing Street sources said any steps would be incremental and monitored carefully to see what effect they had.

Mr Lewis told Sky News: “I think it would be wrong to get too carried away. I think we’ve got to understand that this is a pandemic and a virus that spreads so easily that we have to be very cautious as we look at how we come out of the current lockdown.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan appealed to Londoners not to break the rules this weekend. “I want to make a direct appeal to Londoners as we start the bank holiday weekend. We’ve all made monumental efforts to follow the rules and stay at home over the last few weeks, and it is essential this continues over the coming days. Despite the warm weather our priority first and foremost must still be the welfare of our loved ones and our key workers.”

Police issued a warning about speeding on the bank holiday weekend as the death toll on London’s roads during lockdown rose to double figures.

Scotland Yard announced 10 people had been killed in crashes since emergency measures came in on March 23, while extreme speeding enforcement in London surged by 142 per cent, compared with the same period last year. Staggering journey times as people go back to work is seen as vital to spread out commuters in London, four million of whom were using public transport daily before lockdown.

Europe starts to ease itself out of Coronavirus lockdown

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Rush hour in the capital has changed since lockdown from a peak between 7am and 9.15 to an earlier and shorter period, but with an overwhelming peak between 7am and 8am, during which time construction workers mingle with hospital staff in busy Tube carriages.

At the same time service levels have declined, with 20 per cent of TfL staff reporting sickness. But even with a full complement of trains, TfL calculates that Tube carriages will only be able to carry less than a fifth of their usual number of passengers if social distancing is enforced.

Just over half of Londoners say they will not use public transport unless social distancing is in place, according to a joint survey by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch. Londoners are also keener to wear face masks than people in other regions.

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