LONDON, Jan 24 — British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today he hoped schools, which have been closed to most pupils since Jan. 5 as part of a national lockdown, would be able to reopen by Easter in early April but said it would depend on Covid-19 data.

"I would hope so,” Hancock said, when asked during an interview on Sky News if schools would be open at Easter.

"But ... we’ve got to look at the data, we’ve got to look at the impact of the vaccination programme ... The education secretary said that he will ensure that schools have two weeks’ notice of return and I don’t know whether it will be before then,” he said. — Reuters