First Minister says she won't be adopting Boris Johnson's 'Stay Alert' Message in Scotland
The Prime Minister is set to change the UK Government's approach to tackling the virus
Nicola Sturgeon has said she will continue to use the “stay at home” message to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in Scotland as a rift in the UK-wide response opened ahead of Boris Johnson's address to the nation.
The Prime Minister will tell the country to “stay alert, control the virus and save lives” when he outlines his “road map” to a new normality in an address to the nation on Sunday.
But Scotland's First Minister said the first she had heard of the “the PM's new slogan” was in newspaper reports and that she would not be switching her messaging “given the critical point we are at”.
Mr Johnson will unveil a coronavirus warning system when he outlines his plans to gradually ease the lockdown while urging workers who cannot do their jobs from home to begin resuming their roles but maintain social-distancing rules.
“This is the dangerous bit,” he warned ahead of the announcement.
On Sunday morning, Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “The Sunday papers is the first I've seen of the PM's new slogan.
“It is of course for him to decide what's most appropriate for England, but given the critical point we are at in tackling the virus, #StayHomeSaveLives remains my clear message to Scotland at this stage.”
Shortly before Ms Sturgeon's tweet, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said he hoped all four nations will agree to take the same approach when the PM speaks to them in a Cobra meeting before his 7pm pre-recorded address.
“We hope that they will agree to a consistent approach across the country, that's our strong preference,” Mr Jenrick told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
It is understood that a warning system administered by a new “joint biosecurity centre” will detect local increases in infection rates, with a view to locally altering restrictions in England.
With the alerts ranging from green in level one to red in level five, Mr Johnson is expected to say the nation is close to moving down from four to three.
On Monday, the Government will publish a 50-page document outlining to MPs the full plan to cautiously re-start the economy after figures suggested the overall death toll for the UK has passed 36,500.
The shift in messaging will come amid concerns that workers may not feel comfortable resuming their roles after the weeks of firm instructions to “stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives”.
That could be a test for ministers, with unions warning that they might not recommend their millions-strong membership to resume their roles if safety is not assured.
“The trade union movement wants to be able to recommend the Government's back-to-work plans,” Unison, Unite, the GMB, Usdaw and the Trades Union Congress wrote in a letter to the Observer.
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