AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Source: Shutterstock
Summary
- PM Boris Johnson is set to declare an exit roadmap from the third national lockdown.
- The plan of easing restrictions is expected to balance the social, economic and health factors.
- The restrictions are likely to be removed in a phased manner.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to declare an exit roadmap from the national lockdown on Monday, 22 February, under which the government will be issuing definitive guidelines for the removal of restrictions in a phased manner. The decision to exit the national lockdown will be finalised at a cabinet meeting in the afternoon, following which there will be a press conference in the evening.
Johnson is set to pronounce the statement in the Parliament after a virtual cabinet meeting.
Health data
The latest data, including the rate of hospitalisation, number of people lying in the hospitals, as well as the individuals under intensive care, along with the persisting rate of infection and the data points indicating the efficacy of the vaccines administered in the recent past, is likely to be unveiled by the Prime Minister.
The exit roadmap is expected to balance the social, economic and health factors in accordance with the latest available epidemiological data, the Prime Minister’s Office said. One in 3 adults in the UK have received the first dose of vaccine, translating into over 17.5 million people, PM Johnson said in a tweet on 21 February.
Johnson declared to immunise every adult in the country with the first dose by the end of July, briefly directing the healthcare authorities to increase the rollout of Covid-19 vaccine in the upcoming weeks.
Four-test assessment
The exit plan from the nationwide lockdown will outline four major steps for easing the restrictions. Accordingly, the government will be examining the data to ascertain the impact of previous moderations before giving the approval to provide further relaxations. The periodic assessments to be done by the government will be based on four tests, including successful implementation of the set plan for vaccine distribution and administration.
The government will also check whether the assessment of the risks is fundamentally changed by the new variants of the virus and the evidence that will suggest that the presently deployed vaccines can reduce the hospital admissions and the subsequent fatalities associated with those vaccines.
Additionally, the healthcare authorities will be continuously gauging the effective pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) to check that the rate of infection is not increasing the hospitalisations in the country.
Phased exit
The lockdown restrictions are likely to be removed in a phased manner across the country due to the relatively uniform spread of the infection. The government is expected to ease the outdoor restrictions at first, as outdoor settings are at a lower risk as compared to indoor habitats. All the respective Members of Parliament are entitled to vote on the regulations enabling the exit plan in Parliament.
