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Do vaccinations smooth the way back to freedom?

In Germany and all over Europe, citizens are eagerly awaiting what politics will decide in terms of lockdown.

The UK has taken a pioneering role in this thanks to its vaccination success.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his timetable on Monday afternoon.

The pressure from business and from his own party is growing daily to start life quickly after the pandemic in view of the British vaccination triumph.

Much further in vaccination than Germany

26 out of a hundred Brits have had at least one vaccination since the beginning of December - in Germany there are six.

By the end of July, all 53 million adults in the country should be able to get at least one vaccination against Covid-19.

Source: WORLD infographic

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But Johnson should disappoint everyone in the House of Commons on Monday who are hoping for great freedom quickly.

The conservative will only loosen the reins gradually and with great caution.

From Johnson's point of view, the strict lockdown that has been in place since the beginning of January must be the last.

Success in the fight against Covid-19 must not be jeopardized, Johnson is convinced, who became seriously ill with the virus himself in April last year.

“Our roadmap must be cautious and irreversible,” said Johnson.

“Data not dates” is the name of the route - data material and not mere data.

A four-phase plan that spans four months.

All restrictions on social contacts could be lifted on June 21 at the earliest.

For the Prime Minister there is only one clear priority at the moment: all children and young people should go back to school.

Other areas of life must be subordinate to this, including the opening of the economy.

Stefanie Bolzen - "Boris Johnson's optimism is not surprising"

Great Britain wants to lift all corona restrictions by June 21.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that when he presented his lockdown timetable in the House of Commons.

Where the optimism comes from, says Stefanie Bolzen.

Source: WORLD

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From March 8th, it should be ready for all schools to resume teaching in the classroom.

Youngsters in secondary school are to be tested twice a week.

The teachers' unions, on the other hand, had called for classes to begin gradually.

From the end of March up to six people or two households will be allowed to meet in parks or private gardens.

Tennis and golf are also allowed again.

Shops that are not geared towards essential living needs are only allowed to reopen on April 12th.

"Fortunately, the hairdressers too," Johnson allowed himself a little joke in the otherwise naturally very serious announcement.

In view of his blond mane, which stood up even more wildly than usual, he earned laughs in the lower house.

Travel only after Easter

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Beauty salons, fitness centers, beer gardens, museums and indoor swimming pools will also be allowed to open their doors again.

Hoping to travel abroad in the Easter holidays gave Johnson a rejection, it would not be possible even in the country at first.

After Easter, however, the British are allowed to rent a holiday home again in their own country.

To anticipate the criticism of the lockdown opponents, Johnson's chief scientific advisor Patrick Vallance warned that “another wave of contagion threatens” if the lockdown measures are lifted too quickly and not gradually.

The prime minister also approached those who had hoped for more, explaining that he understood the disappointment.

But the nation still has to have a little more patience, because “the end is in sight”.

At the same time, Johnson praised the success of the vaccination program.

Almost 18 million people in the kingdom had already received a dose by the beginning of the week.

All residents of retirement and nursing homes are immunized.

Mass vaccination does not mean that the British will come out of the restrictions - which have been almost permanent in many parts of the country since March 2020 - faster than other nations.

The British data situation is optimistic at the moment.

Health Minister Matt Hancock confirmed at the weekend that the corona vaccinations, according to initial surveys, reduce the spread of the virus by two thirds.

Data that gives hope

According to a study from Scotland published on Monday, a first dose of the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer reduces the risk of hospitalization for Covid-19 infection by 85 percent four weeks after vaccination.

AstraZeneca's vaccine reduced it by 94 percent.

The Scots thus confirmed hopeful data from Israel last week.

Despite this much positive data, the government is insisting that five weeks pass between increasing easing measures.

Four key questions must be answered positively during this time: Is the vaccination program still running successfully?

Are the vaccines effective in reducing the number of Covid patients in hospitals and people who die from the virus?

Will the number of infections remain manageable for the National Health Service?

And can the government's risk analysis remain fundamentally unchanged, despite new, dangerous virus mutations?

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The majority of Britons support the cautious approach.

“The majority of the public are still very cautious and concerned.

In the past, a majority of British people believed that the government was too reluctant to go into lockdown and too soon out of lockdown, ”says Chris Curtis of the Opinium polling firm.

Only 28 percent of the British did not adhere to the Corona rules even after almost a year of restrictions.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, too, easing is due soon.

At least elementary school children in Scotland returned to school on Monday.

Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "We have to proceed steadily and with sure step."