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Some words used by politicians, reporters and the public during the coronavirus have been open to different interpretations, which has sometimes caused problems. “Self-isolate” has been used to mean ‘avoid contact with anyone” and just “don’t go out much”, which meant when Matt Hancock said all over-70s would have to self-isolate for three months, he caused some alarm. London being in “lockdown” could mean quarantine and martial law (never a prospect, as No 10 made clear today) or just all the pubs being closed (still an option). And now we have got “turn the tide”, which Boris Johnson says the UK will be able to do within 12 weeks. Many people will hear that as a prediction that after three months life will start getting back to normal. But it may very well not mean that, as Johnson came close to acknowledging when he faced questions.

Here are the main points from his press conference.

Johnson said that the UK would be able to “turn the tide” in the fight against coronavirus in the next 12 weeks. In his opening remarks in the press conference, responding to growing public concern about how long the social distancing measures now in force might last, he said:

I’m conscious as the days have gone by that people will want to know how long we’re expecting them to keep it up. I think, looking at it all, that we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks and I’m absolutely confident that we can send coronavirus packing in this country. But only if we all take the steps that we’ve outlined, that is vital, that’s how we’re going to reduce the peak and once we’ve achieved that and I think that we will, if we take the steps I’ve said, then the scientific progress that we’ve been making will really start coming into play.

Johnson argued that by the middle of June scientific advances would be helping considerably in the fight against coronavirus (see below). But, when asked if he thought that people would be able to go on their summer holidays, he refused to give a direct answer to the question. And, when asked to explain what he meant by turning the tide within 12 weeks, he said he could not be sure the UK would be on the “downward slope” at that point. He said:

I believe that a combination of the measures that we’re asking the public to take and better testing, scientific progress, will enable us to get on top of it within the next twelve weeks and turn the tide. Now I cannot stand here and tell you that by the end of June that we will be on the downward slope. It’s possible but I simply can’t say that that’s for certain, of course not, we don’t know where we are, and we don’t know how long this thing will go on for. But what I can say is that this is going to be finite, we will turn the tide, and I can see how to do it within the next 12 weeks.

This is a sensitive topic because, if coronavirus cannot be beaten within 12 weeks, then the social distancing measures in place now could stay in force for potentially a year or more. In the Imperial College paper (pdf) published on Monday, which explained the modelling that persuaded the government drastic “suppression” measures were vital, the authors said:

The major challenge of suppression is that this type of intensive intervention package – or something equivalently effective at reducing transmission – will need to be maintained until a vaccine becomes available (potentially 18 months or more) – given that we predict that transmission will quickly rebound if interventions are relaxed.

At a briefing this morning Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser suggested that a long-term “exit strategy” from the current coronavirus policy could involve waiting for a vaccine.

Johnson says the first British patient had been put in a randomised trial for a treatment for coronavirus.

He said he expected that relatively soon the government would be able to do mass testing to see if people had had coronavirus. This could be a “game changer”, he claimed, because it would allow the government to track the disease and determine when people could safely go back to work. He said:

To give you an idea of what is coming down the track, we’re in negotiations today to buy a so-called antibody test, as simple as a pregnancy test which can tell whether you have had the disease and it’s early days, but if it works as its proponents claim, then we will buy literally hundreds of thousands of these kits as soon as practicable. Because obviously it has the potential to be a total game changer.

He said Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, would tomorrow announce more details of measures to help businesses and workers.

He appealed to retailers not to engage in profiteering. He said:

On mass buying and the price issue, I really hope that retailers will continue to be reasonable. I certainly wouldn’t want to see profiteering of any kind.

He said that compliance with social distancing rules in some parts of London was “very patchy” and he did not rule out bringing in tougher measures for the capital. He said:

If we feel that [the current advice] isn’t working and we need to bring forward tougher measure, nothing is ruled out. It is vital that people follow that advice. There is huge evidence that they are [social distancing] in the takings of the retail sector, the hospitality sector, TfL [Transport of London] in inner London down about 50%, in outer London 60%, but some evidence that in parts of the capital it is very patchy and some areas where people aren’t following it in quite the way we need them to do.

But there was no prospect of public transport being shut in the capital, he said:

There is no prospect of us wanting to stop public transport in London or stop the Tube or the buses.

Whitty said that it would be at least two weeks before the social distancing measures now in place might lead to the infection rate slowing. He said:

To be clear: even if everybody does all the things we hope and really, really would ask that they will do, the numbers will continue to go up over the next two weeks because there’s a lag until things start to improve.

Johnson said he was minded to give up holding press conferences in a room with journalists because that implied they were not taking social distancing advice seriously. But he did want to continue speaking to the media daily, he said, suggesting they might take place remotely. (See 5.48pm.)