LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Monday the government's much-anticipated roadmap out of the COVID-19 lockdown that has been imposed in England for more than six weeks.
Johnson, who is facing pressure from fellow Conservative lawmakers to lift the lockdown by the end of April, is set to address Parliament in the afternoon, before addressing the nation at a press conference in the evening.
Last week, the prime minister said that his announcement will be "based firmly on a cautious and prudent approach" in order to guarantee that current strict restrictions are the last.
"We've got to be very prudent and what we want to see is progress that is cautious but irreversible," he stressed.
Government ministers have confirmed that the reopening of schools remains the biggest priority, with a phased return likely to begin on March 8.
The government is heavily relying on the success of the vaccine rollout for the lifting of the COVID-19 restrictions and a way back to normality.
During the weekend, Health Minister Matt Hancock said that one of in three adults in the UK has now received a coronavirus vaccine, while Johnson pledged that by July 31 s every adult in the UK should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Sunday, 17.5 million people from the priority groups have been given at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTEch or AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines as part of the immunization campaign that began on December 8.
