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The best memes as Boris Johnson says normal life could return on June 21

<p>Boris Johnson addressing the House of Commons</p>

Boris Johnson addressing the House of Commons

Leon Neal/PA

Twitter became a hotspot for memes as the British public began celebrating Boris Johnson’s proposed date to lift all lockdown restrictions.

The prime minister yesterday revealed his planned roadmap out of lockdown, with schools being the first to open on 8 March.

At the earliest, the ‘stay at home’ instruction will change to ‘stay at home’ on 28 March. Salons, non-essential shops and pubs are planned to be reopened on 12 April.

If all goes well and cases continue to fall, 21 June could mark the complete lifting of social distancing rules.

This news, which would allow large-scale events to resume and nightclubs to reopen, led to outburst of joy after many months of isolation.

Mr Johnson said the roadmap will “guide us cautiously but irreversibly towards reclaiming our freedoms”.

He told the House of Commons: “The threat remains substantial with the numbers in hospital only now beginning to fall below the peak of the first wave in April.”

He praised the contribution of the British public saying, adding: “We are able to take these steps because of the resolve of the British people and the extraordinary success of our NHS vaccinating more than 17.5 million people.”

But the prime minister ruled out quicker lifting of rules any earlier.

He said: “The chief medical officer is clear that moving any faster would mean acting before we know the impact of each step, which would increase the risk of us having to reverse course and reimpose restrictions, I wouldn’t take that risk”

8 March was selected to begin the lifting because it is the target date for all priority groups to receive their first vaccine dose.

Read more: Finding the positivity amongst the pandemic pandemonium

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