or are aged over 65. may 2020 1 may – matt hancock confirms the government's target of providing (but not necessarily completing) 100,000 tests a day by the end of april has been met, with 122,347 provided over the previous 24 hours. 2 may – some recycling centres, including those in greater manchester, begin to reopen after six weeks. 5 may – nhs nightingale hospital north east, a temporary critical care hospital built near sunderland for covid-19 patients, is officially opened by health secretary matt hancock. the virtual ceremony features tv celebrities ant and dec, football pundit alan shearer and cricketer ben stokes. 7 may – baroness dido harding, chair of nhs improvement and former ceo of talktalk, is appointed to lead the government's programme of testing and tracing, supported by john newton of public health england. testing will be led by sarah-jane marsh, chief executive of birmingham women's and children's hospitals, and tracing will be led by tom riordan, chief executive of leeds city council. the 2020 notting hill carnival, scheduled for the august bank holiday weekend, is cancelled because of the covid-19 outbreak. 10 may – the uk government updates its coronavirus message from "stay at home, protect the nhs, save lives" to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives". the opposition labour party expresses concern the slogan could be confusing, and leaders of the devolved governments in scotland, wales and northern ireland say they will keep the original slogan. a new alert scale system is announced, ranging from green (level one) to red (level five), similar to the uk's terror threat levels. a recorded address by boris johnson is broadcast at 7pm in which he outlines a "conditional plan" to reopen society, but says it is "not the time simply to end the lockdown this week", and describes the plans as "the first careful steps to modify our measures". those who cannot work from home, such as construction workers and those in manufacturing, are encouraged to return to work from the following day, but to avoid public transport if possible. the guidance on the number of outdoor exercise periods will be lifted from wednesday 13 may. outlining future easing of restrictions, johnson says "step two" – no sooner than 1 june – would include reopening some shops and the return of primary school pupils, beginning with reception, year 1 and year 6; and that secondary pupils facing exams next year would get some time in school before the summer holiday. "step three" – at the earliest by july – would begin the reopening of the hospitality industry and other public places. 11 may – the uk government publishes a 50-page document setting out further details of the phases for lifting the lockdown restrictions. boris johnson gives further details as he makes his first statement on the virus to parliament. amid concerns about the safety of people returning to work, johnson tells the downing street daily briefing he is not expecting a "sudden big flood" of people returning to work, and that companies will have to prove they have introduced safety measures before they can reopen. the uk government advises people in england to wear face coverings in enclosed spaces where social distancing is not possible, such as on public transport and in shops. teaching unions express their concern at government plans to reopen schools on 1 june, describing them as "reckless" and unsafe. 12 may – the reading and leeds festivals, scheduled for the weekend of 28–30 august, are cancelled because of the ongoing covid-19 outbreak. 13 may – the health protection (coronavirus, restrictions) (england) (amendment no. 2) regulations 2020 (si 500) come into effect, allowing the re-opening of garden centres, sports courts and recycling centres. in addition to outdoor exercise, open-air recreation is also permitted with no more than one member of another household. government announcements gloss these with the (non-enforceable) requirement that social distancing must be practised. house moves and viewings are also permitted. 14 may – a total of 126,064 tests for covid-19 have been conducted in the most recent 24 hour period, the highest number to date. figures compiled by nhs england giving a breakdown of underlying health conditions among covid-19 hospital fatalities between 31 march and 12 may indicate one in four had diabetes. other common health conditions were dementia (18%), serious breathing problems (15%), chronic kidney disease (14%), and ischaemic heart disease (10%). the office for national statistics publishes results of the early phase of a survey programme in england. from swab tests between 27 april and 10 may, they estimate that 148,000 people, or 0.27% of the population, had covid-19 at any given time during those two weeks (95% confidence interval: 94,000 to 222,000). this implies roughly 10,000 new cases per day. no significant difference is found between broad age groups. their estimate for people working in healthcare or social care is higher, at 1.33% (confidence interval: 0.39% to 3.28%). the survey does not include people in hospital or care homes, where rates of infection are likely to be higher still. public health england approves a blood test developed by roche diagnostics that can detect covid-19 antibodies. transport for london is given £1.6bn of emergency government funding to keep bus and tube services running until september. 15 may – a report on deaths in care homes in england and wales from the office for national statistics finds 9,039 deaths between 2 march and 1 may, and a further 3,444 deaths of residents in hospital. in this period, covid-19 was involved in 27% of all deaths of care home residents. since the last week of march, non-covid deaths have been higher than previous years; deaths of residents from all causes peaked around 14 april. matt hancock announces that every resident and staff member in care homes in england will be tested for covid-19 by early june. government scientists and teaching unions hold talks in a bid to safely reopen schools. the british medical association voices its support for the unions over their concerns about the safety of resuming classes. 16 may – anne longfield, the children's commissioner for england, urges the government and teaching unions to "stop squabbling and agree a plan" to reopen schools, warning that the closure of schools is impacting negatively on disadvantaged children. 17 may – in an article for the mail on sunday, boris johnson acknowledges frustrations with the government's "stay alert" message for england, but urges the public to be patient as the lockdown measures are eased. 18 may – the london congestion charge is reinstated, and buses in london begin charging passenger fares once again. as part of the £1.6bn deal to bail out transport for london, the congestion charge will also rise from £11.50 to £15 from 22 june. jury trials resume at a handful of courts in england and wales, having been suspended since the beginning of the lockdown restrictions. the 2020 chelsea flower show begins, and is held as a virtual festival for the first time. english premier league football clubs vote to allow teams to begin training in small groups from the following day as a step towards restarting football in england. 20 may – at prime minister's questions, boris johnson confirms that a track and trace system will be in place from 1 june. the government faces mounting pressure from councils and teaching unions to reconsider its plans to reopen primary schools from 1 june. robert buckland, the secretary of state for justice, says the government is taking all concerns "very seriously"> figures released by public health england indicate no new coronavirus cases were reported in london over the 24-hour period up to monday 18 may. 24 may – samples from blood donors in london during the past week (reported by public health england on 4 june) show antibodies indicating exposure to covid-19 in around 16% of people. boris johnson confirms plans (outlined on 10 may) for the phased reopening of schools in england from 1 june: from that date, they will reopen for early years pupils, reception, year 1 and year 6. for the first time he states that from 15 june a quarter of year 10 and year 12 students will be allowed "some contact" to help prepare for exams. 25 may – boris johnson outlines plans to reopen car showrooms and outdoor markets from 1 june, and for all non-essential shops to reopen from 15 june. weston general hospital in somerset temporarily stops admitting new patients because of a high number of covid-19 cases. the football association confirms that the 2019–20 women's super league and 2019–20 women's championship have ended immediately, with the outcome of winners and relegations to be decided. 27 may – boris johnson states that a test and trace system will be operational in england from the following day. premier league football clubs vote to resume contact training. 28 may – contact tracing systems go live in england and scotland – nhs test and trace in england, and test and protect in scotland. however, dido harding tells mps the system in england will not be "fully operational at a local level" until the end of june. johnson says the government's five tests have been met, and from 1 june in england groups of up to six people will be able to meet outdoors in gardens and outdoor private spaces. dental practices will be allowed to reopen from 8 june. premier league clubs agree to restart games on 17 june, with two matches – aston villa v sheffield united and manchester city v arsenal. all 92 remaining matches from the season will air live on television. 29 may – a rehabilitation centre for covid-19 patients receives its first patients. nhs seacole, based at headley court in surrey, is named for the british-jamaican nurse mary seacole. 30 may – boris johnson announces a relaxing of lockdown restrictions for the 2.2 million people who have been "shielding" in their homes, with them allowed outdoors with members of their household from 1 june. those who live alone can meet one other person outside. 31 may – some scientists express their concern about the logic of relaxing lockdown rules for those shielding at home in england. in response robert jenrick tells the downing street daily briefing he is "reasonably confident" the measures are "manageable" but the room for manoeuvre is limited. june 2020 a sign outside a sense charity shop in june 2020 indicates an indefinite closure due to covid1 june – the health protection (coronavirus, restrictions) (england) (amendment no. 3) regulations 2020 (si 558) come into effect, again without prior parliamentary scrutiny. car and caravan showrooms, outdoor sports amenities and outdoor non-food markets may reopen. the prohibitions on leaving home are replaced by a prohibition on staying overnight away from home, with certain specific exceptions. gatherings of people from more than one household are limited to six people outdoors and are prohibited entirely indoors, with exceptions including education. there are further exemptions for elite athletes. as primary schools reopen in england, headteachers report a varied attendance rate of between 40% and 70%. furniture retailer ikea reopens 19 of its uk stores. horse racing becomes the first sport to return in england after a gap of 76 days, with the first meeting at newcastle. snooker also returns. 2 june – public health england releases its report into the disproportionately high number of people from ethnic minorities dying from covid-19. the report finds that age, sex, health, geographical circumstances and ethnicity are all risk factors, with those of bangladeshi origin experiencing a particularly high number of fatalities. the england and wales cricket board confirms england will play three test matches against the west indies starting on 8 july. 4 june – transport secretary grant shapps announces that face coverings will be compulsory on public transport from 15 june. very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties will be exempt from this requirement. 5 june – sir patrick vallance, the uk's government chief scientific adviser, says the r number is between 0.7 and 0.9, but could be as high as 1 in some areas of england. his comments come after figures from the office for national statistics suggest the reproductive rate is between 0.7 and 1 for england. the uk government's ban on tenant evictions in