Boris Johnson eases UK lockdown

People in the UK will be able to sunbathe in their local parks, exercise as much as they want and drive to other destinations from Wednesday, country's Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Sunday, as he laid out his vision for gradually restarting the economy.

In a pre-recorded televised statement on Sunday evening, Johnson unveiled a road map to resuming activity in the country following more than six weeks under lockdown, CNN reports.

Until Johnson's announcement, residents whose jobs were considered non-essential were advised to leave home only for local exercise once a day and to buy food or medicine.

"From this Wednesday we want to encourage people to take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise," he said.

"You can sit in the sun in your local park, you can drive to other destinations, you can even play sports but only with members of your own household."

The PM's announcement was aimed at relaxing the messaging around the UK's lockdown, while more details on exactly which measures would be eased are expected on Monday.

In his address, Johnson officially launched the government's new slogan, replacing advice to "Stay at home" to save lives, to "Stay alert."

In a Tweet ahead of his announcement, Johnson urged people to still "stay at home as much as possible" and to "limit contact with other people." And he asked them to maintain the two-meter social distancing rule, suggesting the government will let people exercise their own judgment to some degree on how to resume work and socializing.

Johnson announced a new five-tier alert system, much like one it already employs to assess terror threats. He said the country was now at level four, with five being the highest level of threat, and by relaxing restrictions the country could soon be at level three.