UK’s Hancock: England must come out of pandemic safely, not rush

Commenting on the cautious steps towards lockdown easing announced by the Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson on Monday, the UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said Tuesday, the government is determined to pull England out of the coronavirus pandemic but not in a rush to do so.

Hancock said: “We’re all absolutely determined to come out of this as fast as safely possible, but no faster.”

PM Johnson announced a ‘roadmap to recovery’ on Monday.

“The roadmap is split into four distinct stages, each a minimum of five weeks apart. The first stage is the reopening of schools and the removal of some care home visitor restrictions on 8 March followed by the removal of the “stay at home” guidance from 29 March – after this date, the rule of six will apply to outdoor gatherings. The second stage, which is likely to begin in April, is likely to entail the reopening of non-essential retail and outdoor hospitality services. Stage three, likely to come in May, will see the return of more normal hospitality service and stage four is likely to authorise the reopening of the domestic tourism industry,” FXStreet’s Analyst Joel Frank noted.

Market reaction

Having tested the 1.4100 level in the last hour, GBP/USD is consolidating the latest leg higher around 1.4080, up 0.11% on the day.