Politics
Covid lockdown UK news – Boris’ roadmap update at 3pm today with new rules on schools, rule of six, shops and pubs
BORIS Johnson will reveal the UK’s roadmap out of lockdown today – the first step on our slow return to normality.
The Prime Minister will speak in the House of Commons at 3pm outlining a covid plan he says will prioritise reopening schools and reuniting families.
The first date for the diary will be March 8 when schools will reopen and Brits can once again meet one friend or family member in an outside space for a picnic or a coffee.
Assuming all goes well with that easing, the next significant milestone will be March 29 when outdoors gatherings of either six people or two households will be allowed, reuniting friends for the first time in months.
The same date will also see the return on outdoor sports such as tennis, golf and even football, Boris will announce today.
But the news will come as a blow to hairdressers, who will be told they can’t reopen to customers until April, and also to pubs and restaurants who will remain shut for anything other than takeaways until May.
Beyond that, Boris is expected to say he hopes for the rules of six can be scrapped altogether by June and the UK return to a true sense of normality, albeit with social distancing in place, by July.
But the PM will make clear that for each step to be taken, benchmark numbers will need to be met on Covid cases, hospital admissions, vaccinations and deaths.
After his announcement in the Commons, Boris will make a televised announcement to the nation at 7pm this evening.
Follow our live blog below for the very latest on the UK ‘s path out of lockdown…