Boris Johnson has gone back to work this morning, making his first statement in weeks, outside of Number 10 advising it is still too early to lift the current lockdown restrictions.
“I can see the long term consequences of lockdown as clearly as anyone. And so yes I entirely share your urgency. It’s the government’s urgency.
“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”.
“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.
“I asked 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 soon nearly succeeded. We defied so many predictions we did not run out of ventilators or ICU beds, we did not allow our NHS to collapse.
“We have collectively flattened the peak”
Today’s unscheduled statement was his first public appearance since the day after he left St Thomas’s hospital, where he spent three days in intensive care, around two weeks ago.
