Dominic Raab issues update on plans to reopen schools and pubs across Yorkshire

Dominic Raab has been speaking on breakfast television this morning to give further guidance following the speech from Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night.
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Dominic Raab said on BBC Breakfast there will be a "phased" approach to reopening primary schools, starting with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils.

"We will make sure that we would have clear guidance about how that can be done with social distancing, with hygiene," he said.

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"The evidence suggests that there's very little, there's much lower risk for young children getting this virus.

Dominic Raab cc PADominic Raab cc PA
Dominic Raab cc PA

"The risk is that you get transmission through children between households... so what we want to do is make sure, and we'll obviously have more evidence by the time we get to June 1, which will be at the earliest, subject to conditions, the point at which we start in a very phased controlled way proceeding.

"So we'll be providing that guidance and we'll be able to monitor very carefully what happens to the virus between now and then."

Asked when pubs and restaurants could reopen, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News he didn't think England was ready yet.

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He added: "I just don't think we are ready yet, given where we are with the virus.

"There are three steps, there's the modest changes we are announcing which will take effect from Wednesday.

"There's the other changes for things like non-essential retail, and people going back to school, particularly primary school, which won't start until the earliest on June 1 - subject to conditions.

"And then, starting from July 4 at the very earliest, those are the sectors where - they are just inherently more difficult because people are mixing together and it's difficult to maintain the social distancing - we wouldn't be able to say, based on the advice we get, and the monitoring we do, that we would start them at least until July 4."

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