Boris Johnson refuses to accelerate return of England’s schools in response to falling Covid infections

Chief medic warns NHS will be in trouble ‘extraordinarily fast’ if restrictions lifted too soon

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Boris Johnson today ruled out bringing forward the return of schools in England from 8 March, as the country’s chief medical officer warned the NHS will swiftly be back in trouble if relaxations are introduced too fast.

The prime minister is coming under growing pressure to follow Wales and Scotland by allowing the return to the classrooms to begin after the half-term break on 22 February.

But he today warned that he did not want to send recent improvements in infection rates “into reverse” by moving too soon.

And chief medical officer Chris Whitty cautioned that case numbers, while falling, remain “incredibly high” and that the NHS would “get back into trouble extraordinarily fast” if restrictions were lifted.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said: “Let me give you the logic of the 8 March date for the earliest which we think it's sensible to to open schools - and obviously I'm very, very hopeful that we will be able to do that.

“We've got to make a judgement about the effectiveness of the vaccines in bringing down the death rate and bringing down serious illness. That judgement we're going to make in the week of 15 February.

“We will look at all the data. We’ve seen some promising stuff from Israel. But at the moment, to the best of my knowledge we have not yet seen the kind of conclusive data that we need on that key point.”

After 15 February, three further weeks would be needed to ensure that all those in the four top priority groups for vaccination have acquired the protection which the jab offers.

“That speaks to the date of about 8 March. And of course we need to give the schools two weeks notice,” he added.

“For all those reasons, we think that's the sensible date.

“I just want to say to the people who understandably want to go faster - and I share that anxiety, that urgency, because we fought so hard and for so long to try to keep schools open - now that we are making progress with the vaccine rollout and we have a timetable for the way ahead, we don't want to be forced into reverse.

“We certainly think this is the prudent and cautious approach.”

Prof Whitty said that infection rates remain high in the UK despite recent improvements in figures.

“The rates are now coming down, but they’re still incredibly high,” he told the press conference.

"If we were to start to take off again from the very high levels where we are at the moment, the NHS would start to get into trouble again extraordinarily fast.

"So it’s essential that people carry on social distancing, and some of these additional measures - like schools - are also very important.

“The point where those two balance,  where we think that we can be confident enough that a line can be held with the schools open, is a difficult judgement, and fundamentally one for ministers.”