Covid restrictions could ease from spring - with hopes that summer 2021 will be 'normal'

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said that he expects Covid restrictions can start to be lifted from spring next year and has “great hopes” for a more normal summer.

The positive outlook for next year comes after an English grandmother became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial today (8 Dec).

Margaret Keenan, 90, was given the vaccine in Coventry at 6.31am as the NHS mass vaccination programme began in the UK, with the first phase focussing on older people, health staff and care home workers.

‘Great hopes’ for 2021

Mr Hancock said the rollout of the vaccine could mean that the UK will be able to get back to normal ahead of the rest of the world, and expressed hope that restrictions could be lifted from spring.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said, “We’ve said that we think that, from the spring, things can start getting back to normal, and, because we’ve been able to get this vaccination programme going sooner than anywhere else in the world, we’ll be able to bring that date forward a bit.

“I have great hopes for summer 2021 and I hope we can lift the restrictions from the spring.”

However, Mr Hancock cautioned that people need to keep respecting the rules that are in place over the winter period, as the number of Covid cases are still rising in some parts of the UK.

Parts of Essex, Kent and London in particular are among the areas where infection rates are on the increase, with the Health Secretary expressing the importance of keeping rates under control.

“We’ve still got a long way to go on this march, we’ve got to keep our resolve for the next few months,” he added.

“But we all can see that we have a route out and we can get back to normal by the spring, I hope, certainly by the summer, but we’ve still got to stick at it for now.”