PROTECTIVE SHIELD
FOUR million clinically vulnerable Brits will need to continue shielding until the end of March, Boris Johnson has confirmed.
Under new rules, the rest of the population will be allowed to meet one other person outdoors from March 8.
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But those at highest risk from Covid will need to stay at home for at least a few more weeks.
The Prime Minister explained this is to allow time for them to benefit from the increased protection from their first Covid vaccine dose.
Revealing his roadmap out of lockdown in the Commons today, Mr Johnson said: "On the 8th March, people will be able to meet one person from outside their household for outdoor recreation such as a coffee on a bench or a picnic in the park in addition to exercise.
"But we're advising the clinically extremely vulnerable to shield at least until the end of March."
It comes as...
- Boris Johnson today announced his map was a "one way road to freedom"
- All students will return to England schools from March 8
- Hairdressers will open from April 12 along with gyms
- Pubs will reopen for indoor drinking in May as outdoor service returns in April
- Brits will be able to meet inside from May 17 while following the rule of 6 or two households
- Working from home measures will remain in place until at least June
- Nightclubs will reopen on June 21 as the lockdown is lifted into summer
- A full list of businesses that must stay closed until April 12 was revealed today - with cinemas and bingo halls to stay closed until May 17
It comes after 1.7 million people added to the shielding list by a new risk calculator with more than 800,000 bumped to the front of the vaccine queue.
Government advice states that those who are shielding should stay at home where possible and avoid shops — but they do qualify for additional support, such as medicine deliveries and priority supermarket slots.
Mr Johnson said all those in the top four priority groups have now been offered a jab, which means the Government anticipate it will no longer be necessary to shield beyond the end of next month.
"In England, everyone in the top four priority groups were successfully offered a vaccine by the middle of February," he told MPs today.
"As more of us are inoculated, so the protection afforded by the vaccines will gradually replace the restrictions."
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His four-stage plan to ease England's Covid lockdown today shows that restrictions will finally lifted by June 21.
In the first phase, all pupils in England's schools are expected to return to class from March 8.
The PM said: "Step one will happen from the 8th March, by which time those in the top four priority groups will be benefiting from the increased protection they receive from their first dose of the vaccine."
EXPANDED LIST
Up until last week, around 2.3 million people were on the shielding list in England.
But it has now expanded to four million after a model, developed by Oxford University, found other factors that put people at higher risk of Covid.
This included BMI, gender, ethnicity and living in a struggling neighbourhood — not just poor health.
Just over half of this new group have already been jabbed, with GPs ordered to vaccinate the remaining 820,000 as a top priority.
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Making a statement in the Commons, the Prime Minister said: "The threat remains substantial with the numbers in hospital only now beginning to fall below the peak of the first wave in April.
"But we are able to take these steps because of the resolve of the British people and the extraordinary success of our NHS in vaccinating more than 17.5 million people across the UK."
He added that "no vaccine can ever be 100 per cent effective", telling MPs: "So, as the modelling released by Sage today shows, we cannot escape the fact that lifting lockdown will result in more cases, more hospitalisations and sadly more deaths.
"And this would happen whenever lockdown is lifted - whether now or in six or nine months - because there will always be some vulnerable people who are not protected by the vaccines.
"There is therefore no credible route to a zero Covid Britain, or indeed, a zero Covid world and we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental wellbeing and the life chances of our children."
UNDER REVIEW
Alongside the four-step plan, the Prime Minister launched a series of reviews - including on whether people should be able to show if they have had a Covid-19 vaccine or a negative test.
The work will look at whether "Covid status certification" could help reopen the economy by allowing people who have received a jab or a negative test result to do things which would not be allowed for those who could not prove their status.
Officials recognise that there are moral and ethical questions as well as practical ones for any such move, which has been highly controversial in Westminster.
A research programme will use pilot schemes involving testing and other measures to run events with larger crowd sizes.
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International travel rules will also be reviewed, with May 17 targeted as the earliest possible date for a foreign holiday.
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A further piece of work to conclude by June 21 will examine social distancing requirements - including hugs with friends and relatives - the use of face masks and requirements to work from home.
The measures are expected to be put to a Commons vote before the House rises for Easter in late March.
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