British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated on Wednesday the Covid-19 lockdown in England would last until 8 March when schools could start to reopen as he said some travellers to Britain would have to quarantine in government-provided hotels.
Britain saw infections soar at the end of last year after a highly contagious new variant emerged in southeast England, taking cases and deaths to record levels.
On Tuesday, Britain's Covid-19 death toll surpassed 100 000, the first European state to reach that figure, leading to questions about Johnson's handling of a crisis that has also battered the economy.
England has been in lockdown since the start of January with schools, pubs and restaurants closed and people told to stay home as much as possible.
Britain has begun a vaccination programme aimed at delivering shots to 15 million people in priority groups by the middle of February.
Johnson told parliament he hoped that would allow schools to begin reopening the following month.
"We hope it will therefore be safe to begin the reopening of schools from Monday the 8 March, with other economic and social restrictions being removed (then or) thereafter, as and when the data permits," he said.