Speaking during today’s daily press conference, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster stated that the UK ‘must carry on’ until the Prime Minister reveals how social distancing measures will be relaxed.

He said: ‘His comprehensive plan will explain how we can get our economy moving, how we can get our children back to school, how we can travel to work more safely, and how we can make life in the workplace safer.’

Gove then went on to say that the restrictions can only start being relaxed when the government’s ‘five tests’ are met. The five tests include the number of cases falling, a declining death rate, the NHS being prepared and measures in place to stop a second peak of the virus.

He continued: ‘I’m particularly conscious that those in the frontline of our public services will need clear guidance on safe working, they’ll need the right personal protective equipment, and appropriate access to testing, if we are to make all the progress that we want in the weeks ahead.

‘We are consulting with employers and unions, professionals, and public health experts to establish how we can ensure that we have the safest possible working environments and the Prime Minister will be saying more later this week.’

During the press conference, Gove acknowledged that the continuation of lockdown is impacting people’s ‘mental and emotional well-being’ as well as economic activity.

Responding to a question a member of the public, he warned that relaxing the restrictions prematurely would be the ‘worst thing to do’, as it could risk a second spike in the disease.

Giving a scientific perspective, Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for England, also said social distancing ‘can have detrimental effects in terms of health, but also emotional and social effects.’

He continued: ‘We are very keen, as are all my clinical and scientific colleagues, to make sure that as soon as we possibly can we are able to give advice that allows those measures to be relaxed.’

Lockdown restrictions were first put in place on March 23, and extended for ‘at least three weeks’ on April 16. The government has remained tight-lipped about how long the measures will likely last.

However, officials have said getting children back into classrooms is a ‘top priority’ in the timetable to ‘unlock’ the UK. Reports suggest primary schools could be given notice as soon as this week, if infection rates continue to drop.

Today, the Prime Minister said he wants primary schools opened ‘as fast as we can’. He told The Sun on Sunday: ‘That’s where we want to go. It’s about working out a way to do it.’