Working from home to stay in place until at least 21 June as part of Covid roadmap
22 February 2021, 18:27 | Updated: 22 February 2021, 18:30
Working from home advice will be kept in place until at least 21 June as part of Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown.
The prime minister confirmed in his Commons announcement on Monday that the remote working policy would not be lifted in the coming weeks.
Despite the government planning to lift stay-at-home measures from 29 March, many lockdown restrictions will remain in place to prevent another spike in coronavirus cases.
Mr Johnson told MPs that, following this date, people should "continue to work from home where they can and minimise all travel wherever possible".
From no earlier than 21 June, the UK will begin Step Four of the roadmap, during which ministers hope "to remove all legal limits on social contact".
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This will include allowing weddings and other life events, reopening nightclubs and enabling large events such as theatre performances above the limits of Step Three, with testing potentially being put in place to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
The prime minister said: "Our journey back towards normality will be subject to resolving a number of key questions and to do this we will conduct four reviews.
"One will assess how long we need to maintain social distancing and face masks. This will also inform guidance on working from home which should continue wherever possible until this review is complete."
Therefore, working from home measures are not expected to be lifted any earlier than this date.
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He added: "A second review will consider the resumption of international travel which is vital for many businesses which have been hardest hit, including retail, hospitality, tourism and aviation.
"A successor to the global travel taskforce will report by 12 April so that people can plan for the summer."
Mr Johnson said the reviews would investigate how vaccines, and the number of people who have received a jab, have impacted Covid-19 transmission.
This would allow the government to decide whether the current one-metre-plus rule on social distancing and requirements on wearing face masks indoors could be lifted as early as the middle of June.
The final two of the four reviews will consider "Covid status certification" in helping venues to reopen safely, and looking at the safe return of major events.
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