U.K. officials outlined how COVID-19 restrictions will slowly be lifted but cautioned that all reopening dates could be postponed if infections and hospitalizations surge.

The new target also aims for everyone over 50 or with an underlying health condition to get a vaccine shot by April 15, rather than the previous target of May 1.

The Liberals have been under fire for the decision to accept 1.9 million doses of vaccine from COVAX for domestic use in Canada by the end of June.

Britain has vaccinated more than 15 million people with a first dose and 537,715 with a second dose, the fastest rollout per capita of any large country.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the British government was looking at the option of quarantine hotels -- where inbound travellers pay to be isolated at a hotel on arrival.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday the COVID-19 variant first discovered in the U.K. may be associated with a higher level of mortality.

The United Kingdom, which has the world's fifth-worst official COVID-19 death toll, is racing to be among the first major countries to vaccinate its population.

The death toll in the United Kingdom has been soaring and now stands in excess of 81,000 -- the world's fifth-highest toll -- while more than 3 million people have tested positive.

Johnson announced the tough new stay-at-home order for England that takes effect at midnight Tuesday and won't be reviewed until at least mid-February.

The prime minister said the country is at "a critical moment," with cases rising rapidly in every part of the country.