Ministers consider lockdown ‘halfway house’
Full reopening could be delayed until July, when all the over-50s have had second dose of the vaccine
BRITAIN faces a three-month lockdown “halfway house” after Easter, with a full reopening delayed until all over-50s have had their second dose of the vaccine, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Ministers are considering proposals to begin reopening swathes of the economy in April under similar restrictions to those in place over the summer, with “rule of six” and social distancing measures in force in pubs and restaurants.
A return to full normality will be delayed for at least 12 to 14 weeks to allow for all over-50s to have their second dose of the vaccine, according to a source familiar with the discussions.
Ministers are keen to reopen hospitality venues in some capacity before the G7 summit in the second week of June, when the UK will host world leaders in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.
Boris Johnson has previously suggested that the UK will return to the geographic tier system after the lockdown ends, but sources yesterday suggested the tiers may apply to the whole country rather than to specific areas.
“The appetite for regional tiers will only come if you have large swathes of the country that are significantly lower in case numbers, new variant case numbers and hospitalisations,” a source said.
Officials are understood to be planning the reopening of schools first, followed by an increase in personal freedoms, allowing meetings of friends and family outdoors, before hospitality opens with social distancing measures.
The plans could lead to a full reopening of the economy under “normal” rules by the first week of July, after the over-50s have had a second vaccine dose.
Downing Street last night distanced itself from the proposals. A No10 spokesman said: “It’s not a timetable under discussion.”
News of the strategy came as Matt Hancock warned it would be a “long, long, long” time before case numbers were low enough for the lockdown to be fully relaxed. Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the Health Secretary said there was “early evidence that the lockdown is starting to bring cases down”, but cautioned that any further new variants could throw the timetable for the easing of restrictions.
Yesterday 30,004 new infections were recorded in the UK. The seven-day rolling total was 22 per cent down.
Mr Hancock’s refusal to commit publicly to a strategy for easing lockdown added to the frustration of Tory backbenchers, who are calling for measures to be loosened.
Steve Baker, deputy chairman of the Coronavirus Recovery Group, said: “It’s not enough to expect public compliance with prolonged severe measures, without giving some hope, and showing some optimism and light at the end of this very dark tunnel.”
Another MP bemoaned the Prime Minister’s pessimistic tone during Friday’s press conference, when he announced that the Kent strain was more deadly than the original form of Covid. “He looked gutted,” the MP said. “It was like a hostage situation.”
Yesterday, Mr Hancock said that scientists were still unsure exactly how much more deadly the Kent variant was.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, has indicated it may kill 30 per cent more people, but stressed that the data currently available were patchy at best.
Last night, hospitality bosses cautiously welcomed the “halfway house” reopening idea.
Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “We understand restrictions might need to be in place for quite a period of time after we reopen. In that case, given that would have a significant impact, we would want to work with the Government to support us through that period.”