At a press conference tonight, Johnson described the plan as a “one-way road to freedom.” The British prime minister called the coming spring and summer “the seasons of hope.”

He said he understood people who seek more speed with relaxation, but called for caution.

Investigate consequences

So, hard facts are mentioned in the step-by-step plan, but the question is how safe they will be in the future. In the first four weeks after each step, there is room to investigate the consequences of the measures. Only if these are kept within limits will companies and organizations have the opportunity during the fifth week to prepare for the next step.

Johnson’s plan roughly looks like this:

Step 1: March 8

Schools and higher education should be allowed to reopen, as should after-school care. Masks are required from high school. On March 29, there will be more relaxation: six people can gather outside. The British get a little more freedom of movement.

Step 2: April 12

Nonessential shops and hair salons may reopen, as can gyms and swimming pools. In the restaurant sector, terraces are once again accessible. Visits to theme parks and zoos are allowed again, but under strict conditions.

Step 3: May 17

Inside, up to six people can meet again (or two households). Cinemas, restaurants and pubs can reopen, but with strict requirements for the maximum number of visitors. At sporting events, spectators are allowed slowly. International travel is possible again. Weddings and baptisms are allowed again, with a maximum of 30 attendees.

Step 4: June 21

End of social restrictions. The latter sectors may also reopen, such as nightclubs and discos.

It is primarily vaccines that have to do their job, says Prime Minister Johnson. The UK has an advantage over the European Union countries because it started earlier and gained momentum immediately. More than 17.7 million Britons have been vaccinated in two months. All people over 50 must be vaccinated by mid-April, all adults must have been vaccinated by the end of July.

happy summer

“The fact that the vaccination program runs smoothly,” says correspondent Anne Saenen, “makes this step-by-step plan possible. Support for the measures in the UK is quite large, and this is one way to keep it going. so I walk. “

Even companies that complain about not being allowed to open all the time find some support in Johnson’s plan. Saenen: “If there is no clarity, everyone will start complaining.” She calls Johnson’s ad “an effective way to promise people a happy summer.”

Netherlands: roadmap without data

As uncertain as the data he has jotted down in his step-by-step plan may be, British Prime Minister Johnson has written a ‘difficult’ way out of the crown crisis for his country as one of the early Western leaders. Can we also expect something like this from outgoing Prime Minister Rutte in the Netherlands?

“The Dutch cabinet has presented a roadmap,” says parliamentary reporter Fons Lambie, “but without hard data. At the last press conference, earlier this month, there was a completely new update to that map. It is always a deviation from it. “

Now some relaxations are being discussed again, says Lambie. “For example, consideration is being given to eliminating the aggravation of contact professions again.” It seems that the roadmap in the Netherlands is used primarily as a “menu,” says Lambie. “But then without data. On a data roadmap, it would be difficult to predict the approach to the crown crisis, heard in The Hague.”