Little will change in the hospital wards as a new British government pronouncement by the prime minister is expected shortly.

A state-run hospital in London will be rebranding its coronavirus zone signals, sending people they believe have Covid-19 into wards marked up with blue paint rather than the current colour, red.

“It’s intended to make our patients feel a little less panicked,” said an NHS nurse to correspondent.world. “It can be very disconcerting to literally ‘see red’, so blue is a less threatening colour.”

Other changes are to be announced by the prime minister soon, but no one expects them to be radical.

In fact Downing Street has been trying to play down the likelihood of any serious changes — apart from indicating that there will be a big push for better cycle access to cities including integrated cycle lanes alongside pedestrian footpaths rather than prioritising car traffic.

It will also lay far more emphasis on more exercise for the public.

Social distancing will remain the most important aspect of the government’s fight against Covid-19 — alongside far greater testing, and massive support for efforts to find better medicines and develop an effective vaccine.