Boris Johnson said that the country’s emergence from the lockdown will be “gradual”.
Speaking in the House of Commons he said: “As was the case last spring, our emergence from the lockdown cocoon will not be a big bang but a gradual unwrapping.
“That is why the legislation this House will vote on later today runs until 31 March – not because we expect the full national lockdown to continue until then, but to allow a steady, controlled and evidence-led move down through the tiers on a regional basis – carefully, brick by brick, as it were, breaking free of our confinement but without risking the hard won gains that our protections have given us.”
Boris Johnson added that the country is in a “sprint” to vaccinate the most vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them.
He said: “These restrictions will be kept under continuous review with a statutory requirement to review every two weeks and a legal obligation to remove them if they are no longer deemed necessary to limit the transmission of the virus.”
Mr Johnson said: “We are in a tough final stretch made only tougher by the new variant, but this country will come together and the miracle of scientific endeavour, much of it right here in the UK, has given us not only the sight of the finish line, but a clear route to get there.
“After the marathon of last year, we are indeed now in a sprint – a race to vaccinate the vulnerable faster than the virus can reach them and every needle in every arm makes a difference.”
Boris Johnson said people must stay at home in order to give those administering the vaccine a “head start”.
He told the Commons: “Every needle in every arm makes a difference. As I say, we’re already vaccinating faster than every comparable country and that rate, I hope, will only increase.
“But if we’re going to win this race for our population, we have to give our army of vaccinators the biggest head start we can possibly can.
“And that is why to do that we must once again stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”
