Exclusive: Families will be able to meet again next month
Outdoor two-household gatherings to be allowed under lockdown exit plan to be revealed by Boris Johnson
Families will be reunited by Easter under plans to ease Covid restrictions
being announced by Boris Johnson on Monday, The Telegraph can reveal.
The move will be revealed in the Prime Minister's roadmap for how the nationwide lockdown
will start to be lifted.
Two different households will be allowed to meet outside by Easter – allowing groups of relatives to finally catch up in gardens or parks – thanks to the lifting of rules that stop two household groups from gathering outdoors.
Relatives who live far away from each other may have to wait a little longer, however, because it is unclear when guidance telling people to
remain in their local areas will be lifted.
New analysis also suggests hairdressers and non-essential shops in England
could start being opened towards the end of next month if cases continue to drop at the current rates.
But The Telegraph understands
social distancing rules that say people should keep two metres apart when outside are likely to remain in place for "months".
The reopening roadmap has been closely guarded by Number 10, with Cabinet ministers handed numbered paper copies at meetings to be returned before leaving.
Mr Johnson will seek approval from the Cabinet for the plans on Monday before announcing them to Parliament, with a televised press conference expected later that day.
All schools in England, both primary and secondary, are expected to be allowed to open on March 8 – the date the Prime Minister had
earmarked for possible reopening. However that does not guarantee that all pupils will go back that day because some schools may choose to
stagger class returns as they carry out mass testing when the gates reopen.
Mr Johnson and his Cabinet have stressed throughout this week that the lifting of restrictions
will be "cautious" in the hope that it can be "irreversible", with no more lockdowns. While the Prime Minister's roadmap will name some dates, they will be "earliest" ones and could be delayed further if Covid surges again.