Today sees the first phase of the easing of lockdown for Portsmouth and Hampshire residents

From today, people can spend more time outside, meet a friend or family member in an open space and move home.

Under the new guidelines, garden centres can reopen and sports which are physically distanced, such as golf and tennis, can now take place.

With the government in England deciding to drop its Stay at Home message to be replaced with the slogan Stay Alert, Hampshire employees who cannot work from home are being encouraged from today to return to their workplaces. The prime minister told workers, where possible, to not use public transport.

The changes follow prime minister Boris Johnson’s Sunday address to the nation in which he unveiled a conditional ‘road map’ aimed at the gradual reopening of society.

With the new advice conflicting with the continued Stay at Home message in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the move has caused some controversy.

Employers have been provided with guidelines as to how to maintain social distancing and safety at work.

However, Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, warned: ‘It's really important to remember that workers do have that right in law not to work if it would put them in imminent danger.’

Last Thursday, the South Coast Coronavirus Action Committee, held a socially distanced protest outside of Portsmouth’s Guildhall warning the prime minister about the dangers of a ‘premature and unsafe easing of the lockdown’.

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