The daily Downing Street coronavirus press conference is to be scrapped in favour of ad hoc briefings, the British Government has announced.
Briefings will instead take place to “coincide with significant announcements”, according to a spokesman.
It follows the decision earlier this month to cut the weekend question and answer sessions due to viewing figures being “significantly lower” on Saturdays and Sundays.
We’ll continue to hold press conferences to coincide with significant announcements, including with the Prime Minister
Number 10 has been holding the question and answer sessions, which were reformatted to incorporate questions from the public, since March 16 as the coronavirus outbreak moved swiftly through the UK.
The events looked to be being wound down, however, with Cabinet ministers appearing on their own in recent weeks, no longer flanked by medical and scientific experts.
A Government spokesman said on Tuesday: “From today, the press conferences will no longer be daily.
“We’ll continue to hold press conferences to coincide with significant announcements, including with the Prime Minister.
“We will be publishing all of the data which has previously been included in the press conference slides on gov.uk every week day.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to lead Tuesday’s press conference, the last of the daily events, after announcing an easing of the lockdown in the House of Commons.
