Boris Johnson warns easing of UK lockdown will be gradual rather than a ‘big bang’

Johnson warns easing of lockdown will be gradual rather than a ‘big bang’ Picture: Ian West/PA

Boris Johnson warned it would take time to ease lockdown restrictions in England which could be in place until the end of March.

The UK Prime Minister, who came under pressure from senior members of his own party to commit to easing the restrictions as soon as possible, said there would be “substantial opportunities” for relaxation before March.

But he warned there would not be a “big bang” where all the curbs on freedoms were removed at once.

His comments came as the British Government said a further 1,041 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday – the highest daily reported total since April 21.

The Prime Minister said there was “no choice” but to issue the stay-at-home order and close schools given the spread of coronavirus, particularly the more infectious new variant.

As a result of the measures – which will see the majority of pupils kept out of classrooms until at least after the February half-term – GCSE, AS and A-level examinations will once again be cancelled this summer.

They will be replaced by school assessments as ministers and regulators seek to avoid the chaos caused last year by the use of an algorithm to determine grades.

Addressing MPs after the recall of the Commons from its Christmas break, Mr Johnson said there was now a race between the spread of the virus and the delivery of vaccines to the most vulnerable.

Mr Johnson said: “Our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping.”

The regulations run until March 31 “not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis”.

He told MPs – who will retrospectively vote on the measures on Wednesday evening – that there would be “continuous review” of the rules with a statutory requirement to look at them every fortnight and a legal obligation to remove them if they are no longer necessary.

A man passes an information sign notifying people about the national lockdown (Steve Parsons/PA)

“We are in a tough final stretch, made only tougher by the new variant,” Mr Johnson said.

“After the marathon of last year we are indeed now in a sprint, a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them.

“Every needle in every arm makes a difference.”

The UK Government is giving the vaccine to as many priority patients as possible with a second shot after 12 weeks, rather than holding back supplies to offer a booster dose three weeks after the first jab.

(PA Graphics)

The World Health Organisation said it would not recommend that approach, instead suggesting the interval between doses should be between three and four weeks.

There are also concerns about the speed with which vaccines can go through the necessary safety checks to be deployed and Mr Johnson also faced questions about the bureaucracy which is making it harder for people to volunteer to help deliver the vaccines.

Seven mass vaccination will open next week in the UK, with sites in London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Surrey and Stevenage.

UK Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi admitted the target of vaccinating around 14 million people in the highest priority groups – including the elderly, those with clinical needs, care home residents and staff and frontline NHS workers – by February 15 was “stretching”.

Some 1.3 million people have already received either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca jab.

But Mr Johnson confirmed that just 10% of care home residents had received a vaccine, along with 14% of staff.

The British Government also wants England’s schools to reopen after the February half-term, but experts warned that would depend on progress in the battle to curb Covid-19 cases.

(PA Graphics)