Coronavirus: Boris Johnson unveils England’s path out of lockdown
- In first step, prime minister aims to reopen schools in March, though final stage of plan to lift pandemic restrictions will not start till June at earliest
- With more than 120,000 fatalities, Britain has the world’s fifth-highest pandemic death toll, and its economy has seen its biggest crash in over 300 years
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out a phased plan on Monday to end England’s Covid-19 lockdown, offering a “cautious” approach to try to prevent a return to wholesale restrictions that have hobbled the economy.
Johnson, under pressure to allow more freedoms to millions stuck at home and offer hope to closed businesses, said that the first stage would prioritise schools reopening on March 8 when only minimal socialising outdoors would be allowed.
The so-called road map would then pass through four stages, with five weeks in between, and the final step, when most restrictions would be lifted, not starting until June 21 at the earliest.
“There is therefore no credible route to a zero Covid Britain or a zero Covid world. And we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and the life chances of our children,” Johnson told parliament.
“And that is why it is so crucial that this road map is cautious but also irreversible. We’re setting out on, what I hope and believe, is a one-way road to freedom.”