Newspaper column 4 March 2021 - The Roadmap to Recovery

 

The big news coming out of last week was that the Prime Minister announced the Roadmap to Recovery, the gradual process by which we will ease the COVID-19 restrictions, based on scientific data, to help us return to normality by later this year.

Supported by the increased protection offered by these vaccines, the government is able to slowly and cautiously begin to ease restrictions in all areas across England at the same time, guided at all stages by data, not dates.

There will be a minimum of five weeks between each step: four weeks for the data to reflect changes in restrictions; followed by seven days’ notice of the restrictions to be eased.

Getting children back into school has been the top priority, and so from 8 March all children and students will return to face to face education in schools and college. By this point, everyone in the top four vaccine priority cohorts will have received the first dose of their vaccine and developed the necessary protection from it. Some university students on practical courses will be able to return to face to face learning

Also from this date, wraparound childcare can resume where it enables parents to work, seek work, attend education, seek medical care or attend a support group, and care home residents will be allowed one regular visitor provided they are tested and wear PPE.

The Stay at Home requirement will remain, but people will be able to leave home for recreation outdoors with their household or support bubble, or with one person outside their household.

As part of step one, there will be further limited changes from 29 March, the week in which most schools will break up for Easter. Outdoor gatherings of either 6 people or 2 households will be allowed, providing greater flexibility for families to see each other. This includes in private gardens.

Outdoor sports facilities, such as tennis and basketball courts, will be allowed to reopen, and people can take part in formally organised outdoor sports.

At this point, the Stay at Home order will end, although many lockdown restrictions will remain.

For example, you should continue to work from home where possible, and overseas travel remains banned, aside for a small number of reasons.

Step 2, no earlier than 12 April will see non-essential retail, personal care premises, such as hairdressers and nail salons, and public buildings, such as libraries and community centres, reopen.

Most outdoor attractions and settings will also reopen although wider social contact rules will apply in these settings to prevent indoor mixing between different households.

Indoor leisure facilities, such as gyms and swimming pools, will also reopen - but only for use by people on their own or with their household.

Hospitality venues can serve people outdoors only. There will be no need for customers to order a substantial meal with alcohol, and no curfew.

Self-contained accommodation, such as holiday lets, where indoor facilities are not shared with other households, can also reopen.

Step 3, no earlier than 17 May, will see most social contact rules outdoors lifted - although gatherings of over 30 people will remain illegal.

Outdoor performances such as outdoor cinemas, outdoor theatres and outdoor cinemas can reopen. Indoor hospitality, entertainment venues such as cinemas and soft play areas, the rest of the accommodation sector, and indoor adult group sports and exercise classes will also reopen.

Larger performances and sporting events in indoor venues with a capacity of 1,000 people or half-full will also be allowed, as will those in outdoor venues with a capacity of 4000 people or half-full

Finally with Step 4, no earlier than 21 June, it is hoped all legal limits on social contact can be removed. We hope to reopen nightclubs, and lift restrictions on large events and performances that apply in Step 3.

In the meantime, the vaccination programme continues at pace, with the announcement of a new target to offer a first dose of the vaccine to every adult by the end of July. It was amazing to see at the end of last week that 31,280 people in our constituency, that's 32.2% of the total population, have had their first COVID-19 jab.

So this is good news and I believe we can be cautiously optimistic, with the continued lowering of rates, combined with the success of the vaccine rollout, that we will be able to follow this roadmap, and return to normality after a difficult year, by the end of June, if the data allows it.