Boris Johnson also says it's right that schools should stay open where they can, and there are no plans to delay the return tomorrow of primary school Children in many parts of the country.

But the Labor leader secure, Starmer says it's clear the government has lost control of the virus on the new national lock down should be announced within 24 hours.

His our political correspondent Chris Mason, arriving in a hurry to deliver a difficult message the prime minister gave his first interview of the year.

Today, he warns that coronavirus restrictions in England are likely to get worse before they get better.

It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country.

I don't I'm fully fully reconciled that I bet so.

The people of this country are reconciled to that.

The prime minister's analysis of this pandemic from the very start has often contains splashes of optimism, but today felt different vaccines and testing offer hope.

But Boris Johnson struck a somber tone as he leant on downbeat language about the need to be realistic about the very difficult period ahead.

Primary schools in England, outside London and parts of the Southeast were expected to reopen this week, But some at the last minute today have decided to remain closed in secondaries.

In England, there'll be a staggered start to the new term, with pupils expecting exams in the summer.

Going back first, schools are safe, very, very important to stress that the threat to the risk Thio kids to young people is really very, very, very small.

Indeed, as the scientists continually attest, risk to staff is is very small.

And of course, the benefits of education are so huge.

But the signs of everyday life like these in High Wickham in Buckinghamshire are here to stay, and labor have now gone a step further, calling for another England wide lock down.

It is inevitable that more schools going to close.

Many will be closed tomorrow morning.

But the Mawr important thing, in a way, is the national restrictions need to come in in the next 24 hours.

Let's not have the prime minister saying, I'm gonna do it, but not yet.

That's the problem has made so many times the prospect of further restrictions.

Shops closed a slump in demand.

Staff home schooling their Children is placing colossal pressures on businesses, a demand for more support.

How do we get this bridge across from a really difficult Christmas period for small business through to the spring?

Go through to the Easter, which people are now thinking is the recovery.

And actually the government should be throwing everything.

It's got helping small businesses to survive the next 2 to 3 months and so 2021 begins as 2020 ended, shrouded in worry Andi uncertainty.

The vaccines will allow us to turn a corner in tackling this pandemic, but the rest of winter looks bleak.

Chris Base and BBC News Well, with some schools reopening tomorrow after the Christmas break, there are concerns that there won't be enough staff because of worries over the new variant off coronavirus.

The biggest teaching union, the any you is advising members only toe hold classes for the Children of key workers or those from vulnerable backgrounds with more.

Here's our education correspondent Don Johnson Can the virus be controlled if the's classrooms Philip again?

It's a huge question, with all kinds of complications and implications.

Had two parents already contact me over the weekend to say that they've got concerns about bringing their Children back to school?

In Oxford, some parents are making their own decisions on primary school.

Head teachers like Lynn are grappling with tricky issues ahead of Children coming back here on Tuesday.

Yes, we're government continually reviewing the situation, but actually I want someone to say No, we are going to close for two weeks.

You're going to do something really well to make sure the Children learn.

Onda, that's in my mind would be far more effective than just having this constant anxiety behind everyone's feelings.

Are we going to close?

Are we not going to close?

But staying closed would mean childcare.

It would mean learning from home on the risk that some kids miss out and fall behind.

Since he started, he's learned to read and write.

We wouldn't have been able to teach him that home, so e would you know, it's amazing he's had that opportunity, so I wanted to continue.

I hope that teachers are prioritized for vaccination so that, uh, there is some element of safety and returning to schools.

A zit will benefit everyone, especially the young young Children.

At the moment, I think it would better if we didn't.

I think it would better if all the schools were closed just to be gone.

Over this peak, there's pressure from teaching unions councils on some local public health directors.

Some have already told their schools to stay closed, so the number of Children who actually returned from tomorrow isn't entirely in the government's hands now.

Some further closures do look inevitable.

Whether that's through decisions made by councils or the government having no other option on that could well last beyond thes first two weeks.

So the priority has always been to keep schools open as much as possible.

But there's an argument that taking some action now could help avoid further disruption in future.

Wales and Northern Ireland have delayed the return another week on Scotland.

Schools won't fill up until the middle of the month in Bradford.

Pupils are due to return under Tier three, but staff here, like elsewhere, could vote with their feet after teaching unions declared classrooms unsafe.

Whether we open or not depends on the number of staff that we have on.

It's not just teachers.

There are other members of staff who got really genuine concerns as well, including kitchen staff.

And obviously we would need toe feed the Children at lunchtime.

And if we haven't got kitchen staff in school because of their concerns, then that's another issue that I need to take into account when we make a decision.

This evening, the local government association called for Schools Toe have flexibility in making their own decisions.

20% of England's primary pupils already face a fortnight of home, learning more areas and now saying their schools should join them.

More schools are finding they haven't got the staff toe open anyway.

Don Johnson BBC News Oxford, on Our political correspondent Chris Mason is here.

Chris Boris Johnson is talking about possibly tighter restrictions.

What could that involve?

I'm told Clive that in the first instance that would be moving those areas of England not currently in tier for the highest level of restrictions into that tier, if the data continues to look bleak.

But given what Mr Johnson said this morning, there is inevitably a huge amount of speculation, but what else might be coming now?

I'm told that what idea the idea of a curfew in England is not currently being looked at as far as labor concerned.

We heard a few minutes ago that secure Starmer wants in England wide lock down.

He wants to model that on what happened in March with a real emphasis on the stay at home message that we got used to then.

But with schools open where possible and support bubble still existing, the government make the argument that that isn't vastly to similar from T F four.

I think if we take a couple of steps back, what we're confronted by now is Walter Wall uncertainty.

If your local school is closed tomorrow, you can't be certain that it's going to re open in a couple of weeks time.

If it is open, you can't be certain that it will still be open in a week's time.

I think psychologically we were glad worked with the other day to see the back of 2020.

I think the blunt truth is, the first few months of this year could be Justus Bumpy.

Okay, Chris.

Thank you.

Chris Mason.