PM promises coronavirus pandemic exit plan 'in the next few weeks'

The Prime Minister has come under pressure from some anti-lockdown parts of his own party to produce a plan.

And speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions today he said “perpetual lockdown is no answer”.

It comes as Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to set out measures forcing arrivals from Covid-19 hotspots to quarantine in hotels.

And Mr Johnson will also use a Commons statement later on Wednesday to outline a plan for England’s schools, which are currently closed to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.

Mr Johnson insisted it was not yet time for an inquiry into the handling of the pandemic “when we are in the throes of fighting this wave of the new variant, when 37,000 people are struggling with Covid in our hospitals”.

He told MPs “there are no easy answers – perpetual lockdown is no answer” to the challenges posed by the virus.

England’s current lockdown is due to be reviewed on February 15 and Mr Johnson said: “I hope very much to be, in the next few weeks … setting out in much more detail how this country can exit now from the pandemic.”

One route out of the crisis is offered by the vaccination campaign, with Mr Johnson telling MPs that 6.9m people have so far received a first dose.

But he admitted to a “sense of frustration” about the pace of the vaccine rollout, despite the progress that has been made.

He said that he remained confident that the top four priority groups – taking in all over-70s, health and care staff and elderly care home residents – would receive a first jab by mid-February “if we can get the supply” of vaccines.