UK lockdown restrictions to stay in place until ‘daily cases drop below 1,000’ as road map ‘blueprint’ revealed

NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson called on the Prime Minister to be cautious about easing restrictions, and to use “data not dates” to decide when to do so as the NHS remains “at full stretch” – which he says would be the case for at least six weeks.

Mr Hopson said there was a “pretty clear view” that “that number needs to come down to around 50,000” before easing can begin.

NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, has set out four “tests” which should guide easing: getting case numbers down, reducing pressure on the NHS, further strides in the vaccination programme and an effective strategy to control future outbreaks.

“If you look at where we are against those four tests, each one of them tells you that we’re still some way away from being able to start relaxing restrictions,” Mr Hopson told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

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“We had 500 Covid patients in hospitals in September and yet, 15 weeks later, we had 34,000 patients, and we were perilously close to overwhelmed.

“So, what that says to you is that you just need to be really careful before you start relaxing the restrictions prematurely.”

Mr Hopson’s call for the Prime Minister to resist opening up too early came as reports suggested Downing Street is considering a cautious approach to easing the current measures.

The Prime Minister will scrutinise data this week on coronavirus case numbers, hospital admissions, deaths and the impact of the vaccine rollout as he prepares his plan to reduce restrictions.

Mr Johnson has said he will aim to give target dates for restrictions being eased when he sets out his plan next Monday, but “won’t hesitate” to delay plans if infection rates make it necessary.

National papers reported various degrees of lockdown easing, however the Department for Health has not confirmed any of these.

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These included lifting of restrictions on holiday lets for up to two households, and the reintroduction of the ‘rule of six’ for indoor meetings by June.

The Daily Telegraph reported Covid-19 cases would need to sink to 1,000 per day before lockdown could be softened, a figure suggested by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt earlier this month.On Tuesday (February 16) there were 10,625 lab-confirmed cases.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), meanwhile, did not deny suggestions that rapid-result testing will be at the heart of attempting to introduce a level of normality in the coming months.

Asked about the possibility of expanding the use of lateral flow tests, the department said more than 70 per cent of local authorities in England were already offering rapid testing to those who are unable to work from home and pointed to the drive to widen the availability of quick-result testing to businesses with more than 50 employees.

A DHSC spokesman said: “We have not finalised further plans for testing.”

And in a possible indication of what Mr Johnson could announce next week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has set out a phased return for schools in Scotland.