Published on Monday, April 5, 2021

PM says roadmap on track, but cautious on international travel restart

Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the roadmap out of lockdown in England is on schedule.

At a press briefing, Johnson said it will progress to the next stage but it is too early to say if international travel can resume on 17 May.

However the PM remains hopeful the ban on foreign holidays will be lifted then.

He advised people to hold off from booking holidays 'until the picture is clearer.'

From next week, bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers in limited numbers outdoors and gyms, hairdressers, and libraries will reopen.

Pubs will be able to serve customers indoors from 17 May.

"We see nothing in our present data that makes us think that we'll have to deviate from the roadmap," the PM said.

Despite opposition, vaccine certificates are 'likely to become a feature of our lives until the threat from the pandemic recedes.'

"The government believes that Covid-status certification could have an important role to play both domestically and internationally, as a temporary measure," the government said in its latest report.

MPs from both sides have opposed it as 'divisive and discriminatory.'

Apart from international travel, a certification scheme could be used for theatres, nightclubs, and major events such as spectator sports.