Johnson from the UK warns that Lockdown will last at least March 8th

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has informed England that the national virus lockdown will continue for at least another six weeks, with schools closed and new border quarantine rules coming into effect.

A day after the UK death toll passed 100,000, Johnson said the government will evaluate the impact of pandemic measures and the effectiveness of the vaccine program in mid-February.

But the earliest restrictions could start to be relaxed and schools fully reopened March 8, he said, and some rules will be tightened.

In an effort to prevent dangerous mutant strains of the virus from entering the UK, a new 10-day hotel quarantine measures will be imposed on all passengers arriving from hotspot regions such as South America, South Africa and Portugal.

“Everyone is eager to know how much longer we have to endure these restrictions, with all that that entails for jobs, livelihoods and most tragic of all, our children’s chances of life,” Johnson told MPs Wednesday. “We won’t last a day longer than we need to, but we can’t relax too soon either.”

Release lock

Johnson rejected a call from Tory colleague Steve Brine to consider opening some schools before March 8. “This is about as fast as we think we can go cautiously,” the prime minister told Parliament. While the lockdown appears to have slowed the spread of infections, “we don’t yet have enough data to know exactly how quickly it will be safe to reopen our society and economy,” he said.

The UK is three weeks into its third national lockdown since the pandemic started almost a year ago, with tens of millions of workers being ordered to stay at home and retail and hospitality closed. Since then, the government has allocated nearly £ 300 billion in emergency aid to the economy.

In recent weeks, Johnson’s administration has focused on continuing a large-scale vaccination program that aims to provide injections to the 15 million most vulnerable people and carers by February 15. Once that goal is achieved, ministers will consider whether and how restrictions can be imposed. begin to be safely illuminated.

Johnson said the UK remains “very confident” of receiving its supplies from the Oxford /AstraZeneca vaccine, amid an on-going quarrel between the company and the European Union over the delivery of its shots.

Vaccine supply

The vaccine “is still being made in increasing quantities in the UK,” and that “will accelerate,” Johnson said at a televised press conference.

Despite the lockdowns and stimulus measures, the UK has suffered the fifth highest death toll in the world and the worst economic blow of any Group of Seven countries.

Britain recorded a further 1,725 ​​deaths on Wednesday – compared to the seven-day daily average of 1,242 deaths – and more than a million people in the country have been infected with the disease, Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said.

“We remain in a dangerous situation,” said Johnson. The spread of a more contagious and potentially deadly new strain of the virus, first found in South East England, has slowed the government’s ambitions to reopen the economy in the spring, he said.

New variants

Other species have been identified in Brazil and South Africa, and ministers have debated border measures, including quarantining all arrivals at hotels. Ultimately, Johnson announced a more limited policy targeting arrivals from specific countries that are believed to be most at risk of carrying a new variant of the disease.