Downing Street unable to say if sitting on a park bench is against Covid rules

The comments by a No 10 spokesman came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled that tougher lockdown measures could be on the way.

However, Downing Street seemed unsure over what the current restrictions cover.

Asked if it is within coronavirus rules for a single person to sit on a park bench, a No 10 spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “Let me take that one away and come back to you, on the … park bench question.”

Pressed over confusion on Covid rules regarding whether people can consume takeaway teas or coffees in public, the spokesman said: “Takeaways are allowed, or restaurants, or cafes are allowed to provide takeaways.

“People are allowed to leave their homes if it’s for exercise, not socialising.”

Asked if someone can sit on a park bench and have a coffee under current coronavirus regulations, the spokesman said: “We have set out clearly the rules.

“We have been clear in the exemption for the stay-at-home rule: we are permitting one person to meet another person for exercise.”

Asked if walking outside with a takeaway tea is against the rules, the spokesman said: “Going for a walk, obviously, does count as exercise.”

Speaking during a visit to a vaccine centre in Bristol, the Prime Minister called for people to be aware of their surroundings when outside the home.

He said: “In supermarkets people need to be keeping their distance, making sure that they’re wearing masks, doing the right thing.

“We need to enforce the rules in supermarkets.

“When people are getting takeaway drinks, in cafes, then they need to avoid spreading the disease there, avoid mingling too much.”

Mr Johnson stressed that “now is the moment for maximum vigilance” amid increasing calls for tougher lockdown restrictions.

The confusion arose after police appeared to step up action against people they considered to be flouting Covid restrictions.

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