Boris Johnson has announced that he hopes to begin reopening England’s schools from Monday 8 March, with the date to be confirmed next month.
The prime minister said a firm decision would be taken in the week of 22 February, after the spring half-term – the date by which he had originally hoped schools would reopen.
He said by then the government would have a clearer picture of how the vaccines are helping to contain transmission of the virus, and cut hospital admissions.
Johnson promised that in the week of 22 February the government would set out a “gradual and phased approach towards easing the restrictions in a sustainable way”, adding: “The first sign of normality starting to return should be pupils going back to their classrooms.”
Johnson was delivering a Covid update to the House of Commons, a day after official figures confirmed that more than 100,000 people had now died with the virus in the UK.
Marking that fact on Tuesday, the prime minister insisted: “We truly did everything we could, and continue to do everything that we can, to minimise loss of life and to minimise suffering.”
He told MPs the best way of honouring the memory of those who have died was to “persevere against this virus with ever greater resolve”. He announced that 6.8 million people had now been vaccinated: 13% of the adult population.
Johnson also confirmed that passengers from the countries already facing the toughest travel restrictions to the UK would now have to quarantine in government-provided accommodation. “They will be met at the airport and transferred into quarantine,” he said.
The prime minister announced the closure of schools across England from 4 January alongside the lockdown – just a day after they had been allowed to open across most of the country.
The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, had earlier called for all teachers and school support staff to be vaccinated during the mid-February half-term, to help expedite the reopening of schools.
Johnson has promised to set out more details of how and when the lockdown will be eased in the coming weeks.