Boris Johnson suggested that the lockdown in England would continue at least until March 8. The British Prime Minister expressed his hope that schools would open that day, and announced earlier that it would be the first stage of lifting restrictions.

“Our efforts seem to have reduced the spread of the epidemic, but we don’t have enough data yet to know exactly how quickly it will be safe to reopen our society and our economy,” Johnson said in the House of Commons. .

He announced that the government plans to present a plan to recover from the lockdown in the week of February 22. He said the plan depends on progress in the vaccination program, public health capacity, and whether the number of people dying from COVID-19 will decrease.

“The reopening of schools should be our national priority, and the first signs of a return to normal life must be the return of students to the classroom,” the British Prime Minister said, reiterating an earlier announcement that it would be the first step in lifting restrictions. . But he said that wouldn’t happen, as previously expected, right after the semester break, on February 15.

“ If we achieve our goal of vaccinating all four of the most vulnerable groups with the first dose by February 15th, then these groups will be immune to the virus after about three weeks, March 8th. So we hope it will be safe to start reopening schools starting March 8, and then – or later – other economic and social restrictions will be lifted, if data permits, the UK prime minister said.

The third lockdown was introduced in England on January 4. Johnson did not say when it would go into effect, but only expressed hope that restrictions would be eased in mid-February. As part of the lockdown, a ban on leaving homes has been re-imposed without good reason.