Aylesbury MP Rob Butler has welcomed the roadmap out of lockdown announced this afternoon [February 22] by the Prime Minister.
The plan has revealed when establishments can reopen on the basis that the virus can be controlled, with the aim being the summer of this year is when life can see normality return to life in the UK.
The roadmap
The 4-part UK road map to covid freedom: pic.twitter.com/uik2T3YjbH
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 22, 2021
Since March last year, around 121,000 people have lost their lives due to complications related to the illness.
Boris Johnson made the announcement on February 22 (PA)
Following the announcement, Mr Butler said: “Local people have made huge sacrifices over the past year, and the roadmap is a step towards the light at the end of the tunnel.
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“I am delighted that all children will be returning to school on March 8: teachers and parents have done a tremendous job balancing remote learning and in-school lessons for vulnerable pupils and children of key-workers, but it is now time to get everyone back in the classroom.
“I’m also pleased that there are target dates for more businesses to reopen, although I recognise that it means there will still be difficult weeks ahead, especially for pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, and many shops. "I will continue to urge the Chancellor to provide help and support to all those impacted, as I have done consistently since last March.
What the PM tweeted earlier today
Today I’ll be setting out a roadmap to bring us out of lockdown cautiously. Our priority has always been getting children back into school which we know is crucial for their education and wellbeing. We'll also be prioritising ways for people to reunite with loved ones safely.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 22, 2021
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“The rollout of the vaccine has been a tremendous success, and we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone involved: the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and volunteers at local vaccination sites, the pharmaceutical companies, and the regulator for working so fast to produce and approve a safe vaccine as quickly as possible, and everyone involved in an unprecedented logistics operation to get jabs in the arms of a third of the country’s adults.
“The success of vaccines and the falling infection rate locally mean I am very confident that we really can now start to return to our normal way of life.
"And that’s why this must be exactly what the Prime Minister has said: a one-way road to freedom.”
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