Coronavirus: Groups of six can meet in gardens as Boris Johnson announces lockdown changes

Groups of six people from different households will be able to meet outside in England after the prime minister said all five tests to ease the lockdown were being met.

Speaking at the coronavirus briefing, Boris Johnson said people would be allowed to meet in gardens and other private outdoor spaces from Monday.

He also confirmed primary schools and nurseries are permitted to reopen at the start of next week, with year 10 and 12 pupils getting "some face to face contact time" from 15 June.

Mr Johnson said up to six people, of all ages, would be able to meet outside as long as those from different households remain two metres apart.

"These changes mean that friends and family can start to meet their loved ones, perhaps seeing both parents at once or grandparents at once," Mr Johnson said.

However, he warned that people should not be making overnight stays and urged them to avoid "seeing too many people from too many households" in quick succession.

Mr Johnson suggested that barbecues are allowed - as long as everyone stays socially distanced, washes their hands and uses "common sense".

Earlier, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said people in Scotland would also be allowed to meet outdoors - in groups of up to eight from Friday .

Mr Johnson said those who are shielding for health reasons should continue to do so - as he also revealed another 377 deaths - taking the UK's coronavirus death toll to 37,837.

The prime minister explained how his five tests for easing the lockdown had been met.

He said "heroic efforts" meant the first test of protecting the health service had been fulfilled, with 475 admissions for COVID-19 in England on 26 May.

He also said the second test - a sustained and consistent fall in daily death rates - had been met

The government is also satisfied over the third test on the rate of infection, saying it is decreasing with an average of 2,312 new cases confirmed in the last seven days.

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My Johnson said he was also confident about supplies of PPE and testing, and that any adjustments to the lockdown would not risk a unmanageable second peak.

"I cannot and will not throw away all the gains we've made together and so the changes we're making are limited and cautious," said the prime minister.

"It's thanks to the caution you've shown so far that all five met are being met.

"The result is that we can move forward with adjusting the lockdown in England on Monday."

Mr Johnson also said that people who lose income as a result of potential local lockdowns "will be helped".

However, he said he wanted to avoid too many localised restrictions, saying this is why it's "vital" people follow the measures.

Answering a question from Carol, from Sunderland, about what compensation would be offered to those who can't go to work, he said the government would do "all we can" and that the furlough scheme will stay in place.

The government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, told the briefing that the rate of infection had fallen to 0.7-0.9. Last week, it was 0.7-1.

However, he said the crisis was far from over and that any changes must proceed cautiously.

He said: "We are still seeing new infections every day at quite a significant rate and the R is close to one.

"That means there is not a lot of room to do things and things need to be done cautiously, step-by-step and monitored and the test and trace system needs to be effective in order to manage that."

Next week from Monday to Thursday, Dermot Murnaghan will be hosting After the Pandemic: Our New World - a series of special live programmes about what our world will be like once the pandemic is over.

We'll be joined by some of the biggest names from the worlds of culture, politics, economics, science and technology. And you can take part too.

If you'd like to be in our virtual audience - from your own home - and put questions to the experts, email afterthepandemic@sky.uk