PEOPLE in Bracknell have been tempted back onto public transport despite the continuing lockdown, data from Google suggests – but journeys are still below normal levels.

With national figures showing a similar rise in journeys, First Secretary of State Dominic Raab, acting in place of Boris Johnson, urged the nation to continue to follow government advice on social distancing.

In the second report of its kind, Google used location data to chart trends in people's movement in the home, retail and recreation establishments, grocery stores and pharmacies, public transport hubs, and parks and green spaces.

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In Bracknell Forest, footfall increased in all five of the categories outside of the home in the six weeks to April 5 compared to the six weeks to March 29.

Both reports used the five-week period between January 3 and February 6 as a baseline to compare people’s movements against.

The biggest change was in public transport hubs such as bus and train stations

Google's figures previously showed footfall had fallen by 69per cent, but the latest data shows visits are now only down 63per cent compared to usual.

Speaking after the publication of the second Google report, Dominic Raab said everyone who stayed home had helped protect the NHS and save lives, but that "we must keep going".

He added that the measures will have to stay in place until we have moved beyond the peak of cases, as it was too early to say conclusively if they had worked yet.

He said: "The most important thing right now is that people continue to follow the Government’s guidance until we’ve got the evidence that the virus is firmly under control.

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"So that means please do stay at home, to protect our NHS and to save lives. After all the efforts that everyone’s made, after all the sacrifices so many people have made, let’s not ruin it now.

"Let’s not undo the gains we’ve made. Let’s not waste the sacrifices so many people have made.

"We mustn’t give the coronavirus a second chance to kill more people and hurt our country. I know it’s tough going. But this is a team effort, and we’ll only defeat this virus for good if we all stay the course."

Across the UK, the Google data shows an increase in footfall in each category outside the home.

The biggest increase in movement was seen in parks where visits rose from 52per cent below average to 29per cent.

Speaking at another daily press conference, NHS England medical director Stephen Powis their own data analysis shows compliance levels in the public are very high.

He said: "We absolutely need to make sure that we keep the benefits of this going forward and we don’t take our foot off the pedal, we don’t become complacent."

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The full results for Bracknell Forest are:

Trips to retail and recreation establishments had been 83% below normal, but have since increased to 79%

Visits to parks and green spaces had been 56% below average, but have since increased to 36% – though Google said there was not enough data

Footfall in grocery stores and pharmacies had been 41% below normal, but have since increased to 37%

Public transport use, which had been 69% below the baseline, has since increased to 63%

Workplaces had seen a 58% drop, but have since increased to 55%