boris johnson has unveiled his so-called
road map
for the gradual lifting of the lockdown
in england
a process that starts on march the 8th
wales scotland and northern ireland have
their own
separate arrangements in england if all
conditions are met
the restrictions will all disappear by
the 21st of june
the prime minister said there could be
no such thing as a covid free future
but the end of the restrictions was
finally in sight
so from the 8th of march all children in
england will go back to school
and further education colleges will open
residents and care homes will be allowed
one regular visitor
there can be outdoor meetings in a park
for example between two individuals
from the 29th of march up to six people
or two households will be able to meet
outdoors
including in private gardens and some
outdoor sport
will be allowed from april the 12th
that's at the earliest
shops gyms and hairdressers will be
allowed to open plus outdoor hospitality
venues
such as pub gardens and theme parks and
then
no earlier than the 17th of may cafes
pubs and restaurants will be able to
open
fully and restrictions on outdoor
meetings for groups of up to 30 people
will then be lifted and on the 21st of
june
at the earliest again all remaining
restrictions
will come to an end we'll have all the
detail on ending the lockdown in england
including the possibility
of introducing vaccine passports at home
and abroad
but we start with our political editor
laura kinsburg
instructions from downing streets have
for months made life a vague reflection
of what it used to be
going out the place was staying in high
streets closed for business
classrooms for millions makeshift ones
at home
but the kitchen table will soon stop
being the school desk too
six-year-old aiden and his mum and dad
won't have to juggle
their jobs with times tables and he
can wear his new uniform at last your
lovely new
trousers which you've not had the
opportunity to wear
it will be really good for him to go
back what do you reckon
i actually wanted to be a teacher thank
god i didn't pick that profession
because i don't think i'd be any good at
it
getting children back to school was the
prime minister's priority
but a fast return to freedom this is not
with every day
that goes by this program of vaccination
is creating
a shield around the entire population
which means that we're now traveling
on a one-way road to freedom whenever we
ease
the lockdown whether it's today or in
six or nine months
we've got to be realistic and accept
that there will be more
infections more hospitalizations and
therefore sadly
more deaths just as there are every year
with flu and thanks to the vaccinations
that there is light ahead leading us to
a spring
and a summer which i think will be
seasons of hope
and from which we will not go back
there will be some rules in place for
another four months
when do you really hope to be able to
say to the public it's over
laura this isn't the end today but it's
very clearly a road map that takes
us to the end and takes us on a one-way
journey we will be guided by the data
and by the progress that we make and
that's why
it is important also to be
to be cautious there'd been muted
supports when after weeks
he presented the plan to mps we have to
trade very carefully
so i'm glad the prime minister spoke
today of caution
of this being irreversible of assessing
the data
and following the evidence those are the
right guiding principles
and i have to say it's a welcome change
but some conservatives want to know if
the most vulnerable have been vaccinated
why not go faster
for what reason once they've been
vaccinated and protected
from covid uh by the end of april
at the latest are is there any need for
restrictions to continue
we believe that the protection is very
substantial but there will be a a large
minority who will not have sufficient
protection in six weeks it'll be easier
to meet friends and family outdoors
accompanied by pints or food served
outside from the middle of april
shops will open their doors then too but
rules of one kind or another will be
with us until at least june
there's nothing hard and fast about
going back to the office
or abroad or even traveling between the
four corners of the country
clearly we will make our own judgments
about the the particular order and the
particular timing of that because
the data is not identical in each of the
the four nations
today's plans are the beginning and many
businesses worry they might not make it
to the end
the famous hippodrome casino has been
forced to close for 200 days out of the
last year
the boss has made 250 people redundant
to try to hang on
but won't be able to open for at least
another two months
our balance sheet is now in tatters with
um a lot of debt
and we've been spending a lot of time
with our staff trying to help them with
the sort of emotional
challenges of not knowing when they can
go back to work not knowing if there's
work to go back to
all of the stuff that's been done in the
name of covet has
a consequence and a cost as well and
it's business owners are like us that
are suffering
for several months the many costs of
coronavirus
continue to mount but the world will
start soon
to look more like the one we knew
now downey street hopes that they've
been able to get the balance just about
right here between that desire to get
things back to normal but still the very
real risks from the disease itself
but boris johnson did get a bit of a
hard time from some of his mps tonight
when he had a meeting with them some of
them really frustrated about the pace of
this going
as they see it too slowly given all the
progress that there's been with the
vaccine
it's worth saying too tonight there's
still some really big gaps over what
might be next
no fixed date on when people will be
told to go back to the office rather
than stay working at home
nothing clear about how foreign travel
might look by the time of sovereign
summer holidays
and also the government considering the
issue of whether or not we'll all have
to prove we've had a vaccine before
going abroad or before perhaps even
doing
various activities here at home the
controversial concept of a vaccine
passport
that is something that the government is
going to be reviewing
that said there is a lot of deep detail
that we didn't have this morning
a lot of dates now in the diary but
whether in england or decisions to be
taken in the next days and weeks in
scotland northern ireland and wales too
there are still huge things to consider
for politicians
in the weeks ahead and that ways that
affect millions of us
so profoundly laura many thanks again
laura ginsberg with
her thoughts there at westminster