"elimination" strategy, in contrast with the rest of the uk, and expanded a "test, trace, isolate support" system. new covid-19 cases and deaths in the uk, with the dates of lockdown and its partial lifting. this shows both the covid-19 death figures confirmed by tests and the figures registered by three authorities in early may, research was published which concluded that if the most vulnerable (the elderly and those with certain underlying illnesses) were completely shielded, the lockdown could mostly be lifted, avoiding "a huge economic, social and health cost", without significantly increasing severe infections and deaths. it also recommended regular testing and contact tracing. on 8 may the welsh government relaxed restrictions on exercise and allowed some garden centres and recycling facilities would reopen. nicola sturgeon stated that she wanted all nations to make changes together as it would give the public a clear and consistent message. boris johnson acknowledged different areas move at slightly different speeds with actions based on the science for each area. scotland announced a similar measure in terms on exercise as wales, to go live on the same day. the scottish government generally pursued a slower lifting of lockdown measures than the rest of the uk over the following months. boris johnson with the "hands, face, space" slogan introduced in september johnson made a second televised address on 10 may, changing the slogan from "stay at home" to "stay alert". "stay home" was reported as being at the core of the government's communications until being phased out around this time. the full "stay alert, control the virus, save lives" would later be followed by "hands, face, space". johnson also outlined on 10 may address how restrictions might end and introduced a covid-19 warning system. additionally measures were announced stating that the public could exercise more than once a day in outdoor spaces such as parks, could interact with others whilst maintaining social distance and drive to other destinations from 13 may in england. this was leaked to the press and criticised by leaders and ministers of the four nations, who said it would cause confusion. the leaders of scotland, northern ireland, and wales said they would not adopt the new slogan. welsh health minister vaughan gething said that the four nations had not agreed to it, and the scottish health secretary jeane freeman said that they were not consulted on the change. labour leader sir keir starmer said that the new message "lacked clarity". the guardian were told that neither chris whitty, the chief medical officer for england, nor sir patrick vallance, government's chief scientific adviser, had given the go-ahead for the new slogan. witty later said at a downing street press conference that "neither sir patrick nor i consider ourselves to be comms experts, so we're not going to get involved in actual details of comms strategies, but we are involved in the overall strategic things and we have been at every stage." the slogan was criticised by members of sage. scottish first minister nicola sturgeon said: "we mustn't squander progress by easing up too soon or sending mixed messages. people will die unnecessarily." the next day the government published a 60-page roadmap of what exiting lockdown could look like. a document was additionally published outlining nine points which applied to england, with an update of measures from 13 may. as the rules between england and wales were different in terms of exercise, many officials warned against the public driving to destinations in wales for exercise. the counsel general for wales, jeremy miles, said visitors could be fined if they drove into wales for leisure. sturgeon gave a similar warning about driving into scotland. she additionally said that politicians and the media must be clear about what they are saying for different parts of the uk after johnson's address did not state which measures only applied to england. on 17 may, labour leader keir starmer called for a 'four-nation' unified approach. greater manchester mayor andy burnham said that there was a risk of national unity in ignoring the different demands of regions in england. boris johnson acknowledged the frustrations in some of the rules and said that "complicated messages were needed during the next phase of the response and as restrictions changed". contact tracing was resumed at different points in each of the four nations. pilot tracing began on 27 april in northern ireland, 28 may in scotland and england, and 1 june in wales. by 18 june 92% of all positive cases and their contacts were being traced within 24 hours in northern ireland. the northern ireland executive published a five-stage plan for exiting lockdown on 12 may, but unlike the plans announced in england the plans did not include any dates of when steps may be taken. an announcement was made on 14 may that garden centres and recycling centres would reopen on monday in the first steps taken to end the lockdown in northern ireland. on 15 may, mark drakeford announced a traffic light plan to remove the lockdown restrictions in wales, which would start no earlier than 29 may. on 20 june 2020, a group of cross-party mps wrote a letter to the government, urging them to consider a four-day working week for the uk after the pandemic. while nationwide lockdown measures were gradually relaxed throughout the summer, including a shift towards regional measures such as those instituted in northern england in july, lockdown easing plans were delayed at the end of july due to rises in case numbers, and measures were increased once more following the resurgence of the virus nationwide starting in early september. on 14 august the chancellor of the exchequer rishi sunak urged people to return to offices, cafés and restaurants. on 27 august boris johnson launched a campaign emphasising the benefits to the public of returning to the office instead of working from home. on 11 july 2020, the mps urged the prime minister to clarify on wearing masks, after he hinted a day earlier that it could become compulsory to wear them in shops. in august, scottish first minister nicola sturgeon advocated for the rest of the uk to adopt the zero-covid approach that scotland and northern ireland were both pursuing. on 9 september 2020, the british government announced the banning of social gatherings of more than six people, which was to be implemented from 14 september, amidst rising cases of coronavirus. a £100 fine was initiated to be imposed on the people who fail to comply, doubling on each offence up to a maximum of £3,200. lockdowns 2 and 3 (october 2020 – july 2021) boris johnson chose not to follow his scientific advisers' advice on 21 september when he did not introduce a short "circuit-breaker" lockdown as advised by sage. by 1 october 2020, around a quarter of the population of the united kingdom, about 16.8 million people, were subject to local lockdown measures with some 23% of people in england, 76% of people in wales and 32% of people in scotland being in local lockdown. on 12 october, johnson unveiled a three-tier approach for england, in which local authorities were divided into different levels of restrictions. an article in the lancet suggested the localised restrictions were ineffective at reducing the spread of the disease. the northern ireland executive introduced what it termed a "circuit breaker" lockdown on 16 october, lasting four weeks, across northern ireland. schools were also closed for two of these weeks. welsh first minister mark drakeford announced a "firebreak lockdown" would be introduced across wales between 23 october and 9 november in response to rising infection rates. the stay-at-home order forbade non-essential travel and closed many economic sectors. nicola sturgeon also announced a new four-tier regional restriction system to apply across scotland on 29 october. johnson announced in a press conference on 31 october that england would enter a second national lockdown which would go on for four weeks. he said that to prevent a "medical and moral disaster" for the nhs, the lockdown would begin on 5 november when non-essential shops and hospitality will close, but, unlike the first lockdown, schools, colleges and universities will stay open. on 23 november, the government published a new enhanced tier system which applied in england following the end of the second lockdown period on 2 december. on 16 december johnson said that restrictions would be relaxed for five days over the christmas period. that same day, the health secretary matt hancock announced that a new covid-19 strain had been discovered, which was named vui-202012/01. a sign in leicester displaying a stay-at-home message under the government's "tier 4" restrictions in january 2021. on 16 december, the welsh government announced a full lockdown would be introduced immediately after the 5-day christmas period (23–27 december) on 28 december. the following day, the northern ireland executive agreed to a six-week lockdown to begin on boxing day. on 19 december 2020, it was announced that wales would go into a full lockdown (or "tier 4" restrictions) immediately, effective from midnight on 20 december. no end date was announced. on 20 december johnson said that the planned christmas relaxations had been cancelled for london and south east england and limited to a single day for the rest of england as a result of the discovery of the strain. sage advised the government to call a third national lockdown on 22 december 2020. nicola sturgeon announced a lockdown in scotland on 4 january 2021, to come into force that night. in a live broadcast later the same day, johnson confirmed that england would enter a lockdown from 5 january. all travel and gatherings were banned, except for essential reasons, such as essential work, food shopping and daily exercise. inter-household mixing was only permitted outside for essential exercise. all schools and universities were closed, with remote learning used instead. exams were also cancelled. the independent resolution foundation think tank suggested that delaying the third lockdown to january rather than implementing it in december had contributed to 27,000 more deaths in england. jason leitch and nicola sturgeon deliver a covid-19 press conference in january 2021. restrictions on incoming international travellers were introduced in january 2021, including a negative test prior to departure and all travel corridors were closed on monday 18 january, requiring all international travellers to self-isolate for 10 days. further developments (july 2021–) restrictions were subsequently eased in incremental steps. as the vaccination programme expanded, the government lifted most remaining restrictions in england on 19 july 2021, as the sars-cov-2 delta variant was driving a third wave of infections. in england, face masks became recommended rather than mandatory in certain settings, limits on gatherings were removed, and certain rules on nightclubs, restaurants and bars were lifted. however, transport for london maintained face mask mandates. the governments of scotland and wales lifted most remaining rules in early august, but both maintained existing face mask rules. in december 2021, proposals referred to as "plan b" were put forward to renew work from home advice and mandatory face masks in certain settings following increased incidence in the uk and elsewhere of the sars-cov-2 omicron variant. sage advocated for further restrictions to be introduced to mitigate the impact of the variant on the nhs given the expectation of staff shortages, but these were not adopted. on 26 december, social distancing rules, capacity limits in certain indoor venues, closure of nightclubs and advice on limiting household mixing were introduced in wales, northern ireland and scotland by their respective devolved governments; further measures were not introduced in england. living with covid-19