Covid-19: Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ lockdown can be eased soon
Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said he was optimistic he would be able to announce the easing of some Covid-19 lockdown measures soon as the UK’s vaccine rollout continues at pace.
The prime minister, who will unveil his “roadmap” for ending the lockdown on 22 February, said he would prioritise aims to reopen schools from 8 March.
This will be followed by non-essential retail before looking at reopening hospitality venues “in due course”.
“I’m optimistic, I won’t hide it from you, I’m optimistic, but we have to be cautious,” Johnson told broadcasters.
With infections and hospital admissions starting to fall, the prime minister is coming under increasing pressure from some Tory MPs to ease the restrictions that have prompted the biggest fall in UK GDP in 300 years.
Some newspaper reports have suggested that pubs and restaurants may be allowed to reopen in April, with restrictions on social mixing easing in May, but Johnson refused to comment on the timetable.
Optimism has also been boosted by the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout, with 14m Brits now having received the first dose.
The government has said it is on track to offer a jab to everyone who is aged 70 and over, as well as those who are clinically vulnerable, frontline health and social care workers and older adults in care homes, by Monday.
Johnson warned that the number of new Covid-19 cases remained very high, but was “perhaps starting to come down quite fast”.
He also echoed comments made by health secretary Matt Hancock earlier today that the country could live with the virus as it does with the flu by the end of the year and make it a treatable disease.
“I do think that in due time, it will become something that we simply live with some people will be more vulnerable than others that’s inevitable,” Johnson said.
Hancock today said innovative new Covid treatments would be fast-tracked through the UK’s clinical trial system, meaning they could become available in a matter of months.