Boris Johnson urges people to remember ‘hands, face, space’ slogan

The Prime Minister acknowledged that it was important to keep the advice being issued as simple as possible.

The Government’s Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) committee discussed data on July 2 which suggested “a gradual decline in self-reported hand-washing frequency over the course of the epidemic” and said it is “worth revisiting behavioural interventions to increase uptake”.

It comes after the Government was accused of creating confusion around new rules issued late on Thursday for parts of northern England.

At a press conference on Friday, Mr Johnson said: “The only real utensil we have (in) controlling the spread of this new virus is human behaviour, and the only way we can encourage people to behave in one way or the other is through advice.

“And so you’re totally right, we need to keep it as simple as we possibly can and that’s why, to sum it up in a nutshell, is: hands, face, space.

“Wash your hands, cover your face in the settings that we had mentioned and keep your distance from other people where you don’t know them, you’re coming into contact with them for the first time, and of course get a test and self-isolate if you have symptoms.

“I hope that was pretty… you know, that was pretty punchy I think – hands, face, space, and get a test.

“I think everybody can more or less remember that.”

Mr Johnson and his Government have often attempted to use snappy phrases to get their messages across.

In March, people were told to wash their hands whilst singing happy birthday, while the “stay at home” messaging was used during the early months of the pandemic before being dropped for “stay alert”.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson also said that despite progress being made in combating the virus, the UK cannot think that it is exempt from a rise in cases.

He said: “I’ve also consistently warned that this virus could come back and that we would not hesitate to take swift and decisive action as required.

“I’m afraid that in parts of Asia and in Latin America, the virus is gathering pace and some of our European friends are also struggling to keep it under control.

“As we see these rises around the world, we can’t fool ourselves that we are exempt. We must be willing to react to the first signs of trouble.”