Boris Johnson new slogan has faced serious criticism

The Government’s new slogan for tackling the spread of coronavirus has drawn a negative reaction, with many criticising the message as unclear.

Boris Johnson will lay out his ‘road map’ for gradually easing lockdown measures in an address to the nation on Sunday evening. Ahead of the speech, the PM has dropped the well-rehearsed ‘stay at home’ slogan and replaced it for ‘stay alert, control the virus and save lives’.

It comes after a weekend of warm weather saw hundreds ignoring lockdown rules to hold VE day street parties, with the police admitting they are ‘fighting a losing battle’ in London parks with many flocking to them to have picnics and drink in the sun.

The change in slogan has drawn criticism from many who have said it is not clear enough to have an impact on the nation. The hashtag ‘stay alert’ was trending on Twitter this morning, with social media users pointing out that the virus is an ‘invisible threat’ and many sufferers are asymptomatic, adding that paying extra attention won’t be enough to stop people from catching it.

Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham wrote on Twitter: ‘Feels to me like a mistake to me to drop the clear #StayAtHome message at this particular moment.’

General secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Dave Ward, said: ‘The messaging from this Government throughout this crisis has been a total joke, but their new slogan takes it to a new level.’

He added: ‘Stay alert? It’s a deadly virus not a zebra crossing.’

Harry Potter author JK Rowling hit out saying: ‘Is Coronavirus sneaking around in a fake moustache and glasses? If we drop our guard, will it slip us a Micky Finn? What the hell is “stay alert” supposed to mean?’

SNP MP for East Renfrewshire Kirsten Oswald MP wrote: ‘Stay Alert? What is that even supposed to mean? It’s a virus. It’s invisible. You can’t avoid Coronavirus by paying extra attention. #stayalert’.

Writer and comedian Adam Kay added that it would be ‘difficult to stay alert to something that’s 0.0001 millimetres in diameter. This pandemic is going to have as many spikes as a coronavirus’.