West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed confirmation that schools will be able to fully re-open in two weeks as the first of a series of steps that will unlock the economy after coronavirus lockdown.

But Harriett urged the Government to continue to assess all data to allow steps to be accelerated if conditions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined the plan in the House of Commons yesterday (February 22) which will see regulations eased in steps to ensure coronavirus is kept at bay.

Harriett said: “I welcome the news that schools will fully re-open and I look forward to reading the detail on that plan as local teachers prepare for the return of their pupils.

“Lockdowns harm children and it is essential that we get them back into classrooms and develop a comprehensive plan to help them to catch up.
“Thanks to the amazing work of the team delivering jabs and people’s sacrifice during lockdown, the pressure on the NHS is falling. In Worcestershire, nearly half the adult population has had a first vaccination.

“Unlocking should be based on data not just dates. The vaccination programme may go faster, be more effective and have higher take up than currently
forecast.

“I urge the Government to believe in vaccines and follow the data to unlock us as soon as possible.”