Boris Johnson said that he won't rule out further restrictions on the UK in the weeks ahead.

Mr Johnson indicated tougher restrictions may be introduced, saying: "It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country.

"I'm fully, fully reconciled to that."

He added: "There are obviously a range of tougher measures that that we would have to consider... I'm not going to speculate now about what they would be, but I'm sure that all our viewers and our listeners will understand what the sort of things... clearly school closures, which we had to do in March is one of those things."

Asked if he would take legal action against councils which have decided not to reopen primary schools, the Prime Minister said: "We'll work very hard with authorities across the country to get our message across that we think schools are safe; that schools are safe, there's absolutely no doubt about it.

"I understand people's frustrations, I understand people's anxieties but there is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe and that education is a priority.

"And if you think about the history of the pandemic, we've kept schools going for a long, long time in areas where the pandemic has really been at really high levels."

Mr Johnson added: "We will keep this under constant review but we will be driven by public health considerations and by the massive importance of education."

Read more on our coronavirus liveblog: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-covid-vaccine-schools-oxford-closed-lockdown/


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