* Government wants to end lockdown as soon as possible, says
Raab
* Return to regional tiers most likely way ahead
* Ministers back plan for way out of lockdown -report
* Many in hospital not in priority groups -health chief
(Adds health official Stevens)
By William Schomberg
LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Britain's government hopes to
ease some lockdown restrictions in March as it presses ahead
with Europe's fastest rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, foreign
minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday.
The country, which also has Europe's highest COVID-19 death
toll, has been under national lockdown since Jan. 5, with
schools closed for most pupils, non-essential businesses shut
and people ordered to work from home where possible.
"What we want to do is get out of this national lockdown as
soon as possible," Raab told Sky News television.
"By early spring, hopefully by March, we'll be in a position
to make those decisions. I think it's right to say we won't do
it all in one big bang. As we phase out the national lockdown, I
think we'll end up phasing through a (regional) tiered
approach."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set a target of vaccinating
the oldest age groups, the clinically vulnerable and frontline
workers - roughly 14 million people - by the middle of February.
He has said that England can consider easing lockdown
restrictions from that time if all goes smoothly.
The Sunday Times said that British ministers had settled
their differences to back a three-point plan that could lead to
some lockdown restrictions being lifted as soon as early March.
Areas will have restrictions eased once their death rate has
fallen, the number of hospital admissions drops and some people
aged between 50 and 70 are vaccinated, the newspaper said.
It quoted ministers as saying they were prepared to resist
pressure from health advisers to delay the changes until most
people are vaccinated, a process that could take until the
autumn.
A spokesman in Johnson's office declined to comment on the
report.
The head of England's public health service said the
vaccination programme had made "a very strong start" but a
quarter of people hospitalised were aged under 55, younger than
the priority target groups.
"It's not going to be the case that on Valentine's Day or
the 15th of February, with one bound we are free. But, equally,
I don't think we will be having to wait until the autumn,"
Simon Stevens told BBC television, referring to the easing of
restrictions.
"This is going to be a progressive improvement as we get
more coronavirus vaccination supply."
(Writing by William Schomberg
Editing by Pravin Char and David Goodman)