BORIS Johnson has extended England’s lockdown for another three more weeks until at least March 8.
The PM said today lifting the nations restrictions and going back to school will go hand in-hand – and he will not be able to get kids back to class after February half-term as hoped.
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The PM told Parliament this afternoon children would continue to learn remotely for another five weeks – and there was not yet enough data to decide when to lift the lockdown measures.
It will be a massive blow to parents and children hoping for schools would be able to reopen, as in the November lockdown.
He said today: “Our plan for leaving the lockdown will set out our approach for reopening schools.
“If we achieve our target of vaccinating everyone in the four most vulnerable groups, with their first dose by February 15, and every passing day sees more progress towards that goal.
“Then those groups that have developed immunity from the virus about three weeks later, that is, by the March 8, we hope it will therefore be safe to begin the reopening of schools from Monday, March 8.
“With other economical and social restrictions being removed then or thereafter as and when the data permits.”
He said it would be !frustrating for pupils and teachers” but admitted “it will not be possible to reopen schools immediately after half term.”
Gavin Williamson has promised at least two weeks’ notice before opening.
They have said schools will be the first to reopen – but haven’t given any specific dates yet.
The Education Secretary was unable to guarantee schools would definitely open before Easter – and could only say he “hopes” they will do.
It came as:
- Boris Johnson confirmed plans for people flying in from at least 22 covid hotspots to stay in a hotel for ten days
- But only high-risk countries and those with new variants are expected to be on the list – giving hopes to summer hols in Europe
- Boris Johnson is set to reveal a route out of lockdown in February
- Parents are facing a “real danger” kids could be learning from home until the summer
- The PM said he was “deeply sorry” for the more than 100,000 deaths from coronavirus in the UK
- The EU row over vaccines deepened last night as Hungary broke out to try and grab its own supplies from the UK and Russia
- Labour called for keyworkers to get vaccines sooner – in the first phase of the vulnerable persons rollout – after the first four groups have been done
Boris also reassured MPs that both vaccines remain effective against the new variant in the South East.
6.8million people have now been vaccinated – 13 per cent of the entire adult population.
First doses have been given to four out of five over 80s – and three in four elderly care home residents.
He stressed: “We are on track to achieve our goal by mid February”.
Speaking at PMQs he said: “I grieve every death.
“I and the Government take full rsponsibility for all the actions I have taken, we have taken in this pandemic.
“There will be a time to reflect and prepare. I don’t believe this is now.
“What the country wants is for us to come together, work to keep the virus under control as we are, and continue to rollout the fastest vaccination programme in Europe.”
Boris told the nation this lunchtime that the UK is on target to deliver vaccines to the most vulnerable Brits by the middle of February as is the Government’s goal.
But he admitted that “perpetual lockdown is no answer” as his own MPs press him for a way out of the repeated shutdowns.
He added that he “hope to be in the next few weeks setting out in much more detail how this country can exit now from this pandemic”.
It came as the PM revealed that border officials and airport staff will stop Brits LEAVING the country under strict new border plans.
The PM revealed that people trying to exit Britain will be stopped if their reason is deemed non-essential.
Holiday makers will sent packing under the plans, in a bit to stop as many Brits travelling abroad which is illegal under lockdown laws.
But he handed some hope for summer holidays to sunshine destinations later in the year by only imposing strict hotel quarantine on 22 high risk destinations.
These new measures, which also includes more testing for people arriving into the country have been imposed to stop the spread of potential vaccine-busting Covid mutations, will introduced on nations where new strains have emerged.
Addressing MPs today the PM said: “I want to make clear that under the stay home regulations, it is illegal to leave home to travel abroad for leisure purposes.
“We will enforce this at ports and airports by asking people why they are leaving and instructing them to return home if they do not have a valid reason to travel.”
Brits returning to the UK from 22 “red list countries” will face strict isolation rules, with passengers forced to fork out around £1,500 for a ten-day stay in a hotel.
It means travellers returning from the likes of South Africa, Brazil, and Portugal will have to use the facilities.
The PM said: “We have also banned all travel from 22 countries where there is a risk of known variants, including South Africa, Portugal, and South American nations.
“In order to reduce the risk posed by UK nationals and residents returning home from these countries, I can announce that we will require all such arrivals who cannot be refused entry to isolate in government provided accommodation, such as hotels for 10 days without exception.
“They will be met at the airport and transported directly into quarantine.
“The Department of Health and Social care is working to establish these facilities as quickly as possible.”
But holiday hotspots France, Spain and Greece have been handed exemption – but tit’s understood the quarantine measures would be kept under review – which could see the strict rules slapped in place at any point in the future.
BUMPED UP THE LIST
It came as Labour officially demanded that keyworkers – including teachers and police – get the vaccine ahead of the over 60s.
Sir Keir Starmer said that after the most vulnerable people are vaccinated by the middle of February, the 10 million keyworkers must be next on the list.
It goes against the advice from the Government’s scientific experts, who have already set out a priority list of nine groups to get the jab first.
The Labour boss said today: “Does he agree with me that once the first four categories of the most vulnerable have been vaccinated by mid-February, he should bring forward the vaccination of key workers and use the window of the February half-term to vaccinate all teachers and all school staff?”
The PM said any vulnerable teachers would already get the jab, and that others would get it as soon as possible.
He added: “We all want to open schools.”
‘OUT OF THEIR DEPTH’
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick insisted the Government took coronavirus “extremely seriously” throughout – as he defended the response to the pandemic this morning.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The Prime Minister that I have watched throughout this crisis has approached this with huge seriousness.
“He is someone who himself came close to death as a result of the virus and that had a huge and lasting impact on him and his family, as you would expect.”
But GMB presenter Piers Morgan got into a heated debate, and told Mr Jenrick “some of your colleagues… they’re useless” and “completely out of their depth”.
The Cabinet minister replied: “We are all working under immense strain, but that is no excuse, we all have to make sure that we are making the best possible decisions that we can with the information that is available to us.”
Meanwhile, Brits’ summer holidays to sunshine destinations were handed a glimmer of hope as ministers opted to impose strict hotel quarantine only on high-risk destinations.
The new measures, imposed to stop the spread of potential vaccine-busting Covid mutations, are set to be introduced on nations where new strains have emerged.
Priti Patel will reveal the details in full to the House of Commons this afternoon.
It means strict isolation rules, which will see returning passengers fork out around £1,500 for a ten-day stay in a hotel, will only apply to countries already on a travel ban list.
It’s understood it will include South Africa and Brazil where new strains have emerged, alongside Portugal, and the Cape Verde Islands.
And it has been suggested it could even go as far as Dubai – dealing a blow to influencers by adding UAE to a list of up to 30 “high risk” countries.
Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Shadow Home Secretary said the plan “is leaving gaping holes in our nation’s defences against different strains of the virus emerging around the world.”
He added: “The proposals are half-baked, slow at being implemented and risk being ineffective at this crucial moment in our race to get Britain vaccinated.
“Labour is calling for a comprehensive hotel quarantine for all arrivals to secure us against new strains.”
