LOCKDOWN measures south of the border look set to remain in place until the middle of March, Boris Johnson has indicated, as he earmarked March 8 for the reopening of England’s schools.

The Prime Minister, who is due to take questions at a No 10 press conference this afternoon for the second day running, confirmed that hopes of pupils returning to class after the February half-term had been abandoned.

The March date is based on progress in vaccinating the most vulnerable groups in society by mid-February and then giving the jab time to take effect.

However, it is understood that only schools are being earmarked for reopening on the March 8 date as they are regarded as the priority.

Mr Johnson also set out tougher measures to prevent the arrival of new strains of coronavirus into the UK, confirming plans for a 10-day quarantine in hotels or other government-provided accommodation for travellers from high-risk countries.

He stressed the Government had been in contact with the devolved administrations on the issue so that “where possible we continue with a UK-wide approach”.

However, following a phonecall this morning between Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office Minister, and Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister made clear that while the Scottish Government would initially emulate the UK Government’s steps, she said: “We will be seeking urgently to persuade them to go much further and indeed to move to a comprehensive system of supervised quarantine.”

In a Commons statement after the UK’s death toll passed 100,000, the PM told MPs he would set out the Government’s strategy for the “gradual and phased” easing of lockdown in the week beginning February 22.

But with reopening schools the Government’s top priority, it seems unlikely that other lockdown restrictions will be eased before classes return.

England’s schools are currently closed to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.

Mr Johnson declared: “The first sign of normality beginning to return should be pupils going back to their classrooms.”

But he said the UK remained in a “perilous situation with more than 37,000 patients now in hospital with Covid; almost double the peak of the first wave”.

The PM explained that by mid-February much more would be known about the effect of vaccines in preventing hospital admissions and deaths.

In the week commencing February 22, the Government, he said, would “publish our plan for taking the country out of lockdown”.

Mr Johnson went on: “That plan will, of course, depend on the continued success of our vaccination programme, the capacity of the NHS, and on deaths falling at the pace we would expect as more people are inoculated.”

The PM said if schools did reopen on March 8, the “economic and social restrictions” could be eased “then or thereafter”.

The announcement on quarantine covers countries which are already subject to a travel ban due to concern over mutant strains of coronavirus, including South Africa, Portugal and South American nations.

“In order to reduce the risk posed by UK nationals and residents returning home from these countries, I can announce that we will require all such arrivals who cannot be refused entry to isolate in Government provided accommodation, such as hotels, for 10 days without exception,” said Mr Johnson, noting: “They will be met at the airport and transported directly into quarantine.”

Sir Keir Starmer for Labour, who was due to meet bereaved relatives of Covid victims, pressed the PM about the decisions which had led to the UK’s high death toll.

“In due course, there will be a public inquiry and the Prime Minister will have to answer questions but I hope that he can finally answer this very simple and direct question because yesterday the Prime Minister was maintaining the Government had done, his words, ‘everything we could to save lives’.

“So, is he really saying to those grieving families that their loss was just inevitable and that none of the 100,000 deaths could have been avoided?”

The PM replied: “I’ve said there will be a time to reflect and to analyse, to learn lessons and to repair. But I may say to him that I believe the biggest mistake that he has made is in seeking continually to attack what the Government has been trying to do at every opportunity, supporting one week and then attacking the very same policy the next week.

“And he complains about confusion of messages, how much has he actually done as leader of the Opposition to reassure the public, for instance about NHS Test and Trace which has done a very good job I notice, confounding him for the third time, what has he done to reassure people about messaging rather than attacking, confusion and trying to sow doubt about what the Government is doing?

“There was a very different path open to him at the beginning of this pandemic and it’s a great pity that he hasn’t taken it,” he added.