It’s official ...lifting of lockdown will begin next month
Schools and picnics first on road map
LOCKDOWN will officially end for millions of beleaguered Britons next month with the reopening of schools and a relaxing of draconian stay-at-home rules.
All schoolchildren are likely to return to the classroom on March 8, while adults are expected to be allowed to picnic with one friend, or their household.
A second easing of social distancing rules is expected at the end of March with the resumption of outdoor sports, such as golf and tennis, for two people from different households.
The opening of non-essential shops is likely to follow in a major boost to the flailing High Street.
And in a huge relief for the blighted hospitality sector, pubs and restaurants are understood to be opening up for al fresco dining in April.
The 10pm curfew and substantial meal rule is also reportedly being ditched.
Boris Johnson will set out the long-awaited first steps to freedom in a national address next week. He is encouraged by faster than expected reductions in hospital admissions and falling infections – as well as the rapid rollout of the Covid vaccine.
Progress
Further lifting of lockdown measures will depend on the progress of the virus and the jab programme.
The decision to reopen both primary and secondary schools goes against the advice of some government scientists who say it will push up the infection rate.
And the move to prioritise the return of pupils over reopening the economy will put the Prime Minister on a collision course with Conservative MPs, 63 of whom signed a letter this weekend demanding the lifting of all restrictions by the end of April.
Downing Street regards a slow easing of social distancing measures as the price it has to pay for schools going back.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed that the Government is trying to get all schools reopened by March 8 but refused to rule out a phased approach, with primaries reopening before secondaries.
He told Times Radio: “I don’t think there’s a high risk in relation to schools of children getting it, or even teachers and staff.The risk is the transmission in the household that comes from it. On that we have just got to look at the evidence.We do need to wait.”
A decision on when to reopen universities is yet to be taken.
Mr Raab played down suggestions that pubs and restaurants could reopen outdoors by Easter, on April 2.
He said: “It is difficult to say where we’ll be in such a relatively short period of time.
“What I can tell you is that schools is a priority. On top of that non-essential retail. Then after that, given the wider risk of transmission, we want to get hospitality open.”
There is growing hope that the jabs will reduce the transmission of coronavirus, seen as a key factor in easing the lockdown.
Downing Street is expecting data from Public Health England on the effectiveness of the vaccines as soon as tomorrow.
An analysis of the “real world” impact suggests that they give 67 per cent protection against the virus three weeks after a single dose.
Professor Tim Spector, of King’s College London, said that data collected from 50,000 people on a tracking app suggests that vaccines give 46 per cent protection after two weeks and 67 per cent after three to six weeks.
He said he expects Britain will be in a “much better place” in two to three weeks and can begin to ease lockdown restrictions.
Prof Spector told Sophy Ridge on Sky News: “If that was around the country, then we’d have really knocked this on the head.”
Ministers are understood to
have drawn up a four-speed plan for restarting the economy, with all shops, pubs and restaurants open anywhere between early May and August.
The “superfast” plan would see restaurants and pubs reopening in early May once all the over-50s have been vaccinated.
Optimistic
The slower alternatives would see the hospitality sector reopen by the spring bank holiday on May 31 or mid-June.
The slowest route would be to reopen by August.
Ministers and scientists also hope to be able to remove the requirement for the public to wear masks on public transport and in shops by September.
Only No 10’s most optimistic scenario seems likely to satisfy Conservative MPs.
Backbenchers in the Covid Recovery Group have written to Mr Johnson demanding that all pubs and restaurants are allowed to open by Easter and all restrictions be lifted by the end of April.
The letter is signed by Mark Harper and Steve Baker, the rebel ringleaders, and 61 other MPs.
It says: “Once all nine priority groups have been protected by the end of April, there is no justification for any legislative restrictions to remain”, on the basis that “these groups represent 99 per cent of Covid deaths and about 80 per cent of hospitalisations”.
And an influential group of MPs from across party lines will call on the Government to lay out clear criteria for when restrictions will be lifted and gaps in its support schemes be plugged.
The Treasury Select Committee said the Government’s “plan for taking the country out of lockdown” should say how and when restrictions will be lifted to give confidence to people and businesses. Mel Stride, the committee’s chair, said: “People and businesses need confidence that the Government has a clear route out of the crisis.
“To provide this confidence, the Government must set out the criteria for how and when it will lift restrictions. “This should be supported by economic and epidemiological modelling undertaken by the Treasury, showing how it would best optimise health and economic outcomes.”