South Yorkshire mayor urges PM to set out "sensible" roadmap out of lockdown
Boris Johnson will reveal his plan to ease restrictions later today
Last updated 22nd Feb 2021
South Yorkshire's Metro Mayor's urging the Prime Minister to set out a "sensible" roadmap later so we don't end up in yet another national lockdown.
Boris Johnson's expected to reveal a rough timetable for when certain restrictions might be eased - starting with the reopening of schools.
Non-essential shops are likely to follow next, with hospitality thought to be the last industry to return.
Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis tells us it's vital this lockdown is the last:
"We need a sensible approach that is driven by the medical and scientific evidence. None of us want to go back into another national lockdown. And that's why it's incredibly important that we come out of this in the right way at the right speed.
"I know from the conversations that I have with people locally how fed up everybody is with this whole pandemic. So we need from the Prime Minister a clear roadmap that both safeguards the public health aspects set alongside the importance of our economy."
South Yorkshire school children will find out more about the return to schools later too.
The Prime Minister will announce all children will return to the classroom on 8th March.
But headteacher at Wales High School in Rotherham Pepe Di'Iasio says not all kids should be back at once:
"That would see almost almost 20% of our whole country moving from a situation of lockdown into a situation where we'd be moving back into schools. To me that seems a rather large step so I'd want to be arguing for caution, a staggered restart, and making sure that we're able to move forward sensibly.
"Everyone's given an awful lot up during this period of lockdown and what we wouldn't want to do was to jeopardise all our hard-fought work over these last few months for the sake of returning all on one day, on March 8th.
"All of us want to be back in school as soon as it is safe to do so. And we want to follow what the scientists say about this and it's been pleasing to hear the Prime Minister talk about a focus on the data and not on the dates. So if it's safe to return on 8th March I think we'd all want to see schools opening more widely."
It's after teaching unions warned bringing all school children back at once would be "reckless".