There is “early evidence” that coronavirus lockdown restrictions are working, Nicola Sturgeon has said, citing “hopes we might be starting to see some early positive signs” of a reduction in hospital and intensive care admissions.
Meanwhile, there is growing discontent among Westminster Conservatives over the lack of clarity on how long schools will remain closed, with Tory education committee chair Robert Halfon warning “we are creating a have and have-not society” and demanding a “route map” back to the classroom for pupils.
Health secretary Matt Hancock – who indicated schools may remain closed until after Easter as he warned the government was a “long, long, long way off lifting restrictions” – is due to answer questions at a Downing Street briefing at 5pm.
Read more:
- PM says some restrictions could be eased by mid-February
- Boris Johnson has been too slow to stop new variants at our borders
- Tories revolt as government fails to guarantee Easter school re-openings
- Vaccinated people could still spread virus, warns Van-Tam
- Sunak revamps Covid jobs scheme for young people after protests
