Blue sky thinking

So now we know. The route out of the current restrictions is as follows:

March 8th
All schools go back (what could possibly go wrong there?).
2 people from different households can meet outside for a coffee (as if that's not already happening all over the country right now).
Care home residents can have a single visitor.

March 29th
The 'rule of 6' comes back (the important change as far as this household is concerned).
Outdoor sporting events can restart.

April 12th
All shops can reopen, including hairdressers (probably as well, given that the PM now resembles a balding Maltese terrier).
Gyms, libraries and community centres can reopen.
Pubs can serve alcohol outdoors.
Self-catering holiday accommodation can reopen.

May 17th
2 households can meet up indoors, and groups of up to 30 outdoors.
Hotels can reopen.
Indoor sporting events can restart, along with outdoor entertainments.
Foreign holidays may be possible.

June 21st
Free-for-all.

Johnson said this relaxation roadmap was "cautious but irreversible", but when challenged on this statement conceded that he hoped it was irreversible but he'd reverse it if necessary. And then pfeffled on about crocuses peeping through the snow or something, at which point I would imagine most people tuned out. Sigh.

A snap poll this evening suggests that about half the country think this schedule is reasonable, while a quarter think it's moving too fast. Of the remaining quarter, half think we should be easing restrictions more quickly, and the others don't know or don't care. My reaction is that if the NHS continues to manage to roll out vaccinations at the current rate, and no vaccine-resistant mutation appears, we might just about get away with this; though I'm very worried about the impact of the sudden and complete reopening of schools, while most staff and parents haven't yet been vaccinated.

Time will tell.

(On a personal note, on Pfizer vaccination day +6, my post-vaccination headache finally gave up and went away. The CV-19 test I was asked to take on Saturday by the KC/ZOE study arrived yesterday, and I did the swabs and posted it back today.)