Covid-19: When Boris Johnson will reveal his plans to end lockdown..and what it means for Northamptonshire

First steps on the road back to normal will start meeting friends for a socially distanced coffee on a park bench
Northamptonshire will find out today when lockdown laws could finally start to be eased. Photo: Getty ImagesNorthamptonshire will find out today when lockdown laws could finally start to be eased. Photo: Getty Images
Northamptonshire will find out today when lockdown laws could finally start to be eased. Photo: Getty Images

Boris Johnson is expected to reveal his blueprint for taking the country out of lockdown in Parliament this afternoon (Monday).

It will be the first signposts on a route back to normality — although opinions differ wildly on how much the Prime Minister should do to loosen the restrictions for a while yet.

Many members of Johnson's cabinet will only learn what is planned at a meeting this morning.

PM Boris Johnson will reveal his plans in Parliament this afternoon. Photo: Getty ImagesPM Boris Johnson will reveal his plans in Parliament this afternoon. Photo: Getty Images
PM Boris Johnson will reveal his plans in Parliament this afternoon. Photo: Getty Images

The PM will then unveil the plans to MPs in the Commons before leading a Downing Street press conference later in the afternoon and possibly making an address to the nation on TV this evening.

Exacty timings remain unclear. Parliamentary business starts at 2.30pm with questions to the housing minister Robert Jenrick.

the PM is expected to make the opening statement in a Covid-19 debate which is scheduled to follow at 3.30pm.

What can people of Northamptonshire expect from the announcement?

Northamptonshire's hairdressers were among the last to be allowed to reopen following the first national lockdown last JulyNorthamptonshire's hairdressers were among the last to be allowed to reopen following the first national lockdown last July
Northamptonshire's hairdressers were among the last to be allowed to reopen following the first national lockdown last July

From hospitality to home-schooling, holidays to hairdressers, plans are expected on issues that touch the lives of everybody across the county.

Many pundits expect Mr Johnson’s “cautious and phased” approach to easing the lockdown will set out the earliest dates when various restrictions can be relaxed.

Speaking last week, the PM said: “The dates that we will be setting out will be the dates by which we hope we can do something at the earliest, if you see what I mean – so it’s the target date by which we hope to do something at the earliest.”

What will be first to reopen?

Monday's national headlines are unanimous in their expectations from today's announcementMonday's national headlines are unanimous in their expectations from today's announcement
Monday's national headlines are unanimous in their expectations from today's announcement

Education remains the No1 priority with the target date of March 8 to return to in-person teaching for the majority of students for the first time in 2021.

Whether it will be a phased return remains to be seen, however, with the possibility of primary schools going back first, followed by secondaries with later flow testing playing a key part — as was the plan back in January.

GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned in 2021 with teachers estimating pupils' grades instead.

Primary school SATs will also not go ahead this year, nor will phonics or timetable testing.

Will we be able to meet up with friends again?

A socially-distanced coffee on a park bench with one other person will be the limit to catching up with pals from the same day as schools go back.

Today's headlines universally predict rules on outdoor gatherings will be relaxed further — with the return of the Rule of Six — three weeks later.

Having someone round for a chat seems a lot further away, however.

When will be able to go shopping again?

Non-essential shops across Northamptonshire have been closed since New Year's Eve when the county was plunged into the highest level of restrictions after being placed in Tier Four.

And those desperate for a bit of retail therapy at the Grosvenor Centre or Rushden Lakes might have to wait a little while yet.

Much will depend on how returning kids to schools causes the R number to rise, reflecting an acceleration in the virus spreading between people.

The Sun is pinning its hopes of non-essential shops opening at the end of March or the start of April — although warns we may have to wait until the end of April before we can get a proper haircut.

Other treatments, such as waxing and pedicures “where contact is inherent”, could have to wait even longer.

What else might the PM say today?

Calls to allow the hospital sector to open at the earliest opportunity have grown almost daily.

By March, there’s a good chance that almost, if not all over-50s and younger vulnerable groups would have been given at least their first dose of a vaccine.

So, according to inews, if there is no sign of significant rises in infections in the week leading up to Good Friday — on April 2 — then pubs, restaurants and hotels could get the green light to open their doors again for the Easter weekend.

The Mail, however, fears it could be early May before drinkers and diners could be welcomed back with a maximum of two households allowed to sit together indoors and the rule of six applying outside.

And what about holidays?

Consistently lower R numbers across the country could allow a return to staycations sometime in April or May — but the fear of variants such as the South African strain means foreign travel is likely to remain curtailed for months.

Any good news for sports fans?

Restrictions on individual sports such as tennis, golf and angling could be among the first to be eased, possibly as early as March 29 according to many of today's headlines.

There is unlikely to be any good news for Saints and Cobblers fans, though, who have been locked out of games for 11 months, save for a brief spell late last year.