The Prime Minister Johnson is set to lead a coronavirus press conference this afternoon.

Boris Johnson will be speaking from Downing Street after step one of his roadmap out of lockdown got underway.

Children across England have returned to the classroom today having spent all of 2021 doing their learning at home.

The press conference is due to begin around 4pm – an hour earlier than the usual 5pm slot.

Here are four things the Prime Minister could say at today’s briefing:

The return to school

Mr Johnson will inevitably address what is the first day at school this year for thousands of children across England today.

Experts have warned the return to the classroom will mean a rise in infection rates, so the Prime Minister will be keen to reassure parents of their child’s safety.

Ministers believe the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccinations should break the link between case numbers and hospital admissions and deaths as more and more people are protected from the disease.

Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Government’s SAGE committee, has said schools are “absolutely” safe for children to return to as surveys showed that even secondary school pupils are far less likely to contract the disease or transmit it than adults.

Plea to stick to lockdown rules

The Prime Minister is expected to reinforce his message from this morning that people must not relax, even though the first step out of lockdown is underway.

Mr Johnson has already warned that the further easing of restrictions will "based on data not dates, and government will move cautiously to keep infection rates under control".

He has said he hopes today's tentative softening of restrictions marks a "big step" on his "road map to freedom".

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"The reopening of schools marks a truly national effort to beat this virus," he said.

"It is because of the determination of every person in this country that we can start moving closer to a sense of normality - and it is right that getting our young people back into the classroom is the first step."

Vaccine take-up

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics suggests there are certain areas in society where there is growing hesitancy about the vaccine.

More than four in 10 black adults in Great Britain are likely to be hesitant about receiving the Covid-19 vaccine – the highest level among all ethnic groups, the figures suggest.

Some 44 per cent of black adults reported vaccine hesitancy, compared with 17% of mixed adults, 16% of Asian adults, 8% of white adults, and 18% of Chinese adults or adults from other ethnic groups, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The findings cover the period January 13 to February 7.

The Prime Minister will be keen to address the concerns among ethnic groups, and encourage them to take up the offer of a Covid jab when given one.

NHS pay-rise

Though it may not be on his agenda, the Prime Minister will no doubt be asked about the suggested one per cent pay rise for NHS workers.

Doctors, nurses and unions have all been critical of the suggested rise, but Mr Johnson has stated it is the highest offer that could be made by the Government.

The matter is likely to be put to him again when the public and journalists are invited to ask questions.

Speaking about the suggested one per cent increase last week, Mr Johnson said: “What we have done is try to give them as much as we can at the present time.

“The independent pay review body will obviously look at what we’ve proposed and come back.

“Don’t forget that there has been a public sector pay freeze, we’re in pretty tough times.”