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The prime minister still has a goal of reopening all schools in England next month despite concerns from teachers and scientists.
Before an ad about relaxation coronavirus Closing Monday, Downing Street declined to participate in specific reports that Easter could allow for more extensive outdoor socializing, including suggestions that two households may meet outside.
But a government source said “seeing how we allow for more social contact is incredibly important as soon as we can.”
The senior ministers of the COVID Operations Committee will meet on Sunday to finalize the roadmap.
Schools and outdoor mixing are likely to be the first areas where the rules will relax.
However, education unions have criticized Boris Johnson’s goal of getting all students back into the classroom at the same time, issuing a joint statement calling the plan “reckless.”
Scientists advising the government have also called for schools to be opened gradually and in stages.
Appearing on ITV earlier this month, SAGE member professor John Edmunds said that if all schools were opened at the same time “I suspect we would be lucky to keep the replay number below one.”
However, the government denied reports in the Guardian newspaper that England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty was against the plans and said he agreed with the “prioritization of education.”
Younger students in Wales and Scotland they must return to the classroom on Monday as part of a tiered approach.
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‘We want this confinement to be the last’
A Whitehall source insisted that England’s “ambition” remained for all students to return at once, but added that there would be warnings about “data, not dates” in case those plans had to change closer to time.
At first part of the prime minister’s “roadmap” To facilitate the shutdown, the government announced that nursing home residents in England will be able to hold hands with a designated visitor from March 8.
