Government scraps 'Hands, Face, Space' for new slogan 'Keep life moving' as restrictions lift across England

Wednesday, 21st July 2021, 5:10 pm

The coronavirus pandemic has seen the government deliver media briefings on a daily basis at point throughout the past 16 months, littered with key messages to keep the population safe.

No. 10’s tagline, ‘Hands, Face, Space’ drove home the message that cleaning hands, wearing face masks and keeping a two-meter distance from others was necessary to lower transmission of coronavirus.


‘Keep life moving’

Now, the government is set to scrap the catchy tagline and replace it with the less obvious ‘Keep life moving’.

The shift away from ‘Hands, Face, Space’ comes as face masks are no longer a legal requirement and limitations are lifted on how many people can congregate outdoors.

19 July, dubbed ‘Freedom Day’, has enabled people to enjoy a degree of normality not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.

Also from 19 July, NHS workers and other social care workers will not need to self isolate if they are pinged by track and trace, amid fears the NHS could become overwhelmed quickly if staff continue to need to quarantine if they come into contact with an infected person.

Covid cases are continuing to rise and there have been fresh warnings from the government's advisory unit, SAGE, that face masks may need to be reintroduced in as little as three weeks time.

Despite this, a spokesman from the government has said the 'keep life moving' slogan would be "used on marketing campaigns and material" to be issued in the near future.

‘Make Informed decisions’

Speaking on Times Radio business minister Paul Scully declined to confirm whether everyone other than key workers would continue needing to isolate if they were pinged by the app.

“By backing out of mandating a lot of things, we’re encouraging people to really get the data in their own hands to be able to make decisions on what’s best for them, whether they’re employer or an employee,” he said.

Instead, he urged people “to make informed decisions”.

In the past month, cases have continued to steadily rise, with the incredibly infectious Delta variant now accounting for almost all new cases in the UK.

There has also been a rise in the number of young people under 30 being hospitalized and requiring ICU treatment.

46,558 new infections were recorded on Tuesday, more than ten thousand new cases have been confirmed everyday this month across the country/

SAGE has warned another spike could be seen as early as August if the country continues on the current trajectory.