Boris Johnson calls on UK to go back to work in plan to ease lockdown

London CNN — Boris Johnson called on people across the UK on Sunday to return to work if they cannot do so from home, as the Prime Minister laid out his vision for gradually restarting the economy. The government’s previous stance was that people should only go to work “if they must,” Johnson said. That’s millions of people and that means go to work in about 12 hours’ time, mixed with the message that if it’s possible to do so, don’t use public transport – that’s quite a thing to spring on people for tomorrow morning.” The message to “stay alert,” which Johnson announced earlier Sunday on Twitter, has been met with criticism, and ridiculed on social media, for its vagueness. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who described Johnson’s new slogan as “vague and imprecise,”said on Sunday that people in her nation could begin exercising more than once a day from Monday, but all other lockdown rules would be retained. In his address, Johnson sought to present the plan as one with the backing of the kingdom’s four nations, saying he had “consulted across the political spectrum, across all four nations of the UK.” “I believe that, as Prime Minister of the UK – Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland – there is a strong resolve to defeat this together and today, a general consensus on what we could do,” he said.