Downing Street has said the intention is to “start getting” pupils back to school on March 8, but was not ruling out that they could be sent back in stages.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s our intention to start getting kids back to school from March 8.”
Pressed if all students would be back on that date, he said: “It’s important that we undertake the review this week, we always said that we’d carry out the review this week and we would set out all the details in the road map on Monday.
“I’m not obviously going to pre-empt what’s going to be in the road map on Monday but again it remains our priority to get kids back to school and we always said we want that to start from March 8 if the science and evidence allows.”
Downing Street has listed multiple tests for easing the lockdown restrictions, including infection rates.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We’re looking at the evidence and data as a whole.
“We’re looking at infection rates, and the transmission rates of the virus across the country, the number of people that are being hospitalised, the number of people who are currently in hospital, the number of people who are sadly going on to die from the virus, alongside the latest R rate, and the impact that the vaccination programme is having on transmission rates of the virus.
“So we’re looking at a whole range of evidence and data and it will be that that informs the road map that we publish on Monday next week.”
Downing Street declined to comment on what Boris Johnson’s road map out of restrictions may feature, including when asked if he could rule out easing all legal restrictions by the end of April.
Asked about the timetable called for by the Covid Recovery Group of Tory lockdown-sceptics, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I can’t pre-empt what’s going to be in the road map or the details of the review this week.
“It will be the review this week that informs the decisions we make and what is contained in the road map on Monday, I can’t pre-empt that.”
Boris Johnson will be joined at the Downing Street press conference at 5pm by NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens and chief medical officer for England Professor Chris Whitty, No 10 said.
