Coronavirus: Boris Johnson hints at easing of lockdown

The Prime Minister said the Government was "looking at the potential of relaxing some measures" in mid-February, but refused to guarantee that pupils would return to school before Easter.

His comments come as a surprise just a day after Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggested on Sunday any relaxation of lockdown was a "long, long way" off.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to a Covid vaccination site at Barnet Football Club in Edgware, Mr Johnson said ministers were looking at infection rates and progress in vaccinating the top priority groups, which are expected to be completed by mid-February.

"But before then we’ll be looking at the potential of relaxing some measures," he said.

Downing Street aides insisted Mr Johnson meant February 15 was the earliest point at which any of the rules could be changed, not before.

The Prime Minister at a vaccination centre at The Hive, home of Barnet FC. Credit: PA

Mr Johnson stressed he would not do anything that could risk a surge in cases as he declined to commit to a timetable for the return of schools.

He said: "I do think now this massive achievement has been made of rolling out this vaccination programme, I think people want to see us making sure we don’t throw that away by having a premature relaxation and then another big surge of infection.

"Believe me, there’s nothing I want to do more than reopen schools, I’ve fought to keep schools open for as long as I possibly could.

"We want to see schools back as fast as possible, we want to do that in a way that is consistent with fighting the epidemic and keeping the infection rate down."

Boris Johnson observes as a patient receives a dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. Credit: PA

Mr Johnson’s comments came as he faced pressure from senior Tories to allow pupils to return to class.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is widely expected to confirm this week that there will be no return to the classroom after the February half-term break as ministers had hoped.

Robert Halfon, Tory chairman of the Commons Education Committee, called for action to get pupils back in classes amid mounting Tory unrest about the Government’s exit strategy from coronavirus restrictions.

The latest Government figures showed more than 6.3 million people across the UK have received their first dose of the vaccine – with a record-breaking 491,970 being injected in a single day over the weekend.

Based on the latest figures, an average of 393,031 first doses of vaccine would be needed each day in order to meet the Government’s target of vaccinating the top four priority groups – including all over-70s – by mid-February.