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English schools will only reopen on March 8 at earliest, Johnson says

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic briefing at Downing Street

LONDON (Reuters) - England will only allow schools to reopen on March 8 at the earliest because of the risk of another spike in coronavirus infections if measures are relaxed too quickly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

"To people who understandably want to go faster, I share that anxiety and that urgency," Johnson told a media conference. "We don't want to be forced into reverse, so we think this is prudent and cautious approach and I think it is much better to stick to that."

(Reporting by Sarah Young; writing by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Michael Holden)