By PM indicates lockdown will stay in place until March
Coronavirus lockdown will remain in place until at least March 8 as Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out any imminent return to school for most students.
Boris Johnson declared yesterday that schools will not reopen until at least March as he extended lockdown by another three weeks.
The PM stated the worst-hit school years in some areas will have had only 73 days of lessons since the pandemic began last March.
Returning in March would depend on whether the government vaccination target is met.
Mr Johnson said: “ I must inform the House that for the reasons I have outlined it will not be possible to reopen schools immediately after the February half-term.”
“I know how frustrating that will be for pupils and teachers who want nothing more than to get back to the classroom.”
Children who are eligible for food parcels or vouchers will continue receiving them until they are back at school.
He added there is no hope of any national lockdown easing until well after the mid-February review date.
Given the government has made the return of pupils to the classroom a priority, Mr Johnson’s comments indicate that lockdown measures will remain in place until at least the second week of March.
At the conference it was announced fast progress is being made on vaccinations with doses given to more than 6.8 million people across the UK.
This means 13 percent of the adult population have been vaccinated.
Mr Johnson said: “Our goal now must be to buy the extra weeks we need to immunise the most vulnerable and get this virus under control, so that together we can defeat this most wretched disease, reclaim our lives once and for all.”
The NHS is on track to hit the goal of covering the four most vulnerable groups by February 15.
