Everything you need to know from today's Downing Street briefing as Government announces new guidance for those shielding

Communities, Housing and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick led the daily briefing from Downing Street on Sunday, May 31.

He announced new guidance for 2.2 million people who are currently classed as “extremely vulnerable” and shielding due to the coronavirus outbreak.

From Monday, June 1 all of these people - some of whom have not left their homes for 10 weeks - will be able to start to spend time outdoors again.

Individuals will be able to go out once a day, with members of their own household or, if they live alone, to meet up with one person from another household.

Mr Jenrick said that this reflects a “lower risk of transmission” outdoors as well as the “significantly reduced prevalence of Covid-19 in the community”.

Over half of those shielding are under the age of 70 and 90,000 of them are children.

However, he recognised that many people would feel cautious about going out and stressed that people should only do what they feel comfortable with.

Follow live coronavirus updates here

In addition it was announced that the guidance for the “extremely vulnerable” would be assessed regularly - along with social distancing measures for the wider population.

The next review is due to take place in the week commencing Monday, June 15, where officials will consider the next steps for the programme beyond the end of June, with the possibility that the initial shielding period may need to be extended.

It is hoped that more “tailored advice” can be given to individuals in the future.

The Government has also announced £433 million to tackle homelessness after the pandemic.

More than 6,000 new supported homes will be provided for rough sleepers, with 3,300 of these to become available in the next 12 months.

Mr Jenrick said: “Because of the action that we’ve already taken, for the first time in my lifetime, we know who the vast majority of rough sleepers are and where they’re living.

“That means that we can assess each individual’s needs and tailor the support that we provide next.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you