Fears for UK lockdown over weekend of sunshine
Police face "among their biggest challenges" of the lockdown this weekend as sunny weather risks drawing crowds to parks and beauty spots.
Katie Bourne, Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, told the BBC officers were telling the general public to "hold on in there" and avoid unnecessary trips.
Ministers have said "stay at home" is an instruction, not really a request.
And senior medics urged people to avoid travel for the sake of two nurses who died of coronavirus.
A forecast of the sunshine in a few areas this weekend has resulted in warnings from local councils, tourism bosses and police urging persons to stay away from coastal areas, national parks and other visitor destinations.
"This weekend is going to be one of the primary challenges for policing so far," Ms Bourne told BBC Newsnight.
"We've been through a whole lot, it is rather disruptive but let's not quit, let's hang on within. It's a collective endeavour, that is finally about saving lives rather than putting a pressure on the NHS and our other emergency services."
It comes as the most recent figures showed 3,605 persons with the virus have died in the UK, with 684 deaths recorded on Friday. There are 38,168 confirmed cases.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the No 10 briefing on Friday: "We can not relax our discipline now. If we do, persons will die."
Mr Hancock said the advice to stay home and protect lives is "not a request - it really is an instruction".
Following the deaths of two nurses with the virus, Areema Nasreen and Aimee O'Rourke, England's chief nursing officer Ruth May said: "Please stay in the home for them."
Lord Kerslake, the former head of the civil service, told Newsnight the UK was at "a crucial moment" for maintaining the lockdown but said it needed to be done through "90% persuasion and 10% enforcement".
What exactly are the lockdown rules?
A law passed to greatly help stop the spread of the coronavirus means nobody can leave their home "without reasonable excuse". Reasonable excuses include:
Searching for basic necessities such as for example food or medicine
To take exercise (the rules advise once a day, and in Wales this is the law)
Seeking medical assistance, or even to avoid injury or illness or even to escape a threat of harm
Providing care or assist with a vulnerable person, providing emergency assistance, or donating blood
Travelling to work or even to carry out voluntary services, where it isn't possible to accomplish these from home
Attending the funeral of an associate of your household, or a close family member (or in a few circumstances, a friend)
Fulfilling legal obligations, such as attending court, satisfying bail requirements or taking part in legal proceedings
Accessing critical public services including childcare or education, social services, or victim support
Allowing children of separated parents to go between both households
Moving house where reasonably necessary
Focusing the messaging on the weekend weather risked "trivializing" the sacrifices persons were making, said Lord Kerslake.
"People's lives are hugely disrupted, they are separated from themselves, their jobs are in risk and we need to be empathetic with their circumstances and at exactly the same time very clear about the necessity to stay home," he said.
Test shortages
Also this weekend, the Queen is due to make a rare special address to the nation on TV, radio and social media.
The speech at 20:00 BST on Sunday will be intended to reassure and rally people, BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said. The Queen is also likely to thank NHS staff and key workers, and emphasise the important role individuals can play.
The decision to provide the speech has been made "in close consultation with Downing Street", he added.
Meanwhile, your body representing laboratory scientists said the government's plans for scaling up testing for coronavirus infections to 100,000 a day risked being organized by a shortage of chemicals and supplies.
The Institute for Biomedical Sciences said the united kingdom had enough laboratories and staff to improve testing, but there exists a "very real risk" that hospitals could run out of reagents, the chemicals found in the tests.
And supplies of the the precision plastics used with the reagents aren't due to be ready until mid-May, the institute said.
In other developments:
Several British Airways cabin crew have contracted the coronavirus when operating long haul flights over the past two weeks
Passengers on board two cruise liners in Florida - with some 200 British passengers included in this - have begun disembarking
A growing number of councils are instructing pet owners to make sure their pets are always on a lead in parks and open spaces
Official data on testing in hospitals suggests that England is lagging behind Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
