Boris Johnson is to declare an end to most lockdown restrictions today, with social distancing rules, the work from home order, and mask mandates to be ditched from July 19 as he will argue that we must learn to live with coronavirus as we do with the flu.
The Prime Minister will use a press conference this afternoon to confirm a bonfire of virus rules and restrictions from the so-called Freedom Day later this month, in which he will say that individuals will again be able to judge the risks of coronavirus for themselves.
The one-metre plus decree and the work from home order will be dropped, with mask wearing no longer mandatory - while pubs and other venues will not have to collect customer details and will again be able to serve drinks at the bar in a boon for the economy.
Speaking before his announcement, the Prime Minister said people would have to 'exercise judgment' to protect themselves from coronavirus, in a sign the Government will shift from legally enforced restrictions to affording people personal choice.
'Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our road map,' Mr Johnson said. 'Today we will set out how we can restore people's freedoms when we reach Step 4.
'But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks. As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid and exercise judgment when going about our lives.'
Officials said the Prime Minister is due to address the nation while Health Secretary Sajid Javid will take responsibility for announcing the Government's plans to Parliament. As well as publishing the taskforce reviews, an update will also be provided on what is next for care home visits, No10 said.
It follows stern rebukes from Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle in recent weeks for ministers deciding to make statements to the press before MPs.
However, the Government said it will not be known until July 12 - seven days before the target date for easing restrictions - whether its four tests for unlocking have been met, given the need to consult the latest data.
Labour said the Government must declare how many Covid-related deaths it is willing to accept in the face of rising cases of the Indian strain - also know as the Delta variant - if restrictions are abolished.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: 'We are all desperate to move on from restrictions but with infections continuing to rise steeply thanks to the Delta variant, Boris Johnson needs to outline the measures he will introduce such as ventilation support for building and sick pay for isolation to push cases down.
'Letting cases rise with no action means further pressure on the NHS, more sickness, disruption to education and risks a new variant emerging with a selection advantage. So far 'learning to live with the virus' had been no more than a ministerial slogan.
'Now we know this is the Government's strategy, when Sajid Javid addresses the Commons he must explain what level of mortality and cases of long Covid he considers acceptable. And what support will be in place for the most deprived areas where cases are highest and vaccination rates lowest. These are important questions ministers now must answer.'
The Cabinet's Covid committee will meet today to finalise the plans for the final step of the roadmap out of lockdown to give businesses and the public time to prepare.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson would reiterate that Covid will become a virus that we learn to live with 'as we already do with flu'.
A spokesman said: 'This means that hospitalisations, serious illness and deaths from Covid will continue, albeit at a much lower level than before the vaccination programme.'
Step four of the roadmap had been due to happen on June 21, but was delayed by four weeks so more people could be vaccinated. Almost two thirds of adults have now received both doses.
Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick yesterday said that Britain's coronavirus data was looking 'very promising'.
The Communities Secretary pledged that in the next phase the 'state won't be telling you what to do', with individuals exercising their own judgment on wearing masks.
The onus instead will be on ensuring that 'every adult gets fully vaccinated' to guard against rising hospital admissions and deaths, he told Sky News's Trevor Phillips on Sunday.
'We are not going to put the Covid-19 virus behind us forever, we are going to have to learn to live with it,' he said.
'But thanks to the enormous success of our vaccine programme the fact that now we have got to the point where 83 per cent of adults in this country have had at least one jab, we should be able to think about how we can return to normality as much as possible.
'The data that we are seeing that the Prime Minister is reviewing at the moment ahead of his decision point on the road map looks very positive.
'It does seem as if we can now move forward and move to a much more permissive regime where we move away from many of those restrictions that have been so difficult for us and learn to live with the virus.
'That does mean that we are going to have to treat it carefully, we are going to have to keep on monitoring the cases and we are going to have to ensure that every adult gets double-vaxxed because that is the key to keeping the virus under control as we move into the autumn and the winter.'
Some scientific experts have called for the rules on wearing face masks in shops and on public transport to be retained. But Mr Jenrick said wearing face coverings will be made a matter of choice and personal responsibility.
He said: 'Like many people I want to get away from these restrictions as quickly as I possibly can and we don't want them to stay in place for a day longer than is necessary.
'We are going to, I think, now move into a period where there won't be legal restrictions, the state won't be telling you what to do, but you will want to exercise a degree of personal responsibility and judgement. So different people will come to different conclusions on things like masks for example.'
Asked directly if he will ditch his mask should he be permitted to do so, the Housing Secretary said: 'I will. I don't particularly want to wear a mask. I don't think a lot of people enjoy doing it. We will be moving into a phase where these will be matters of personal choice and so some members of society will want to do so for perfectly legitimate reasons.
'But it will be a different period where we as private citizens make these judgements rather than the Government telling you what to do.'
Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, said the link between infections, hospital admissions and deaths had been 'severely weakened'. He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that jabs were affording 'over 90 per cent protection against severe disease', which means fewer sufferers need hospital treatment.
London mayor Sadiq Khan last night did not rule out still making it mandatory for passengers to wear face masks on public transport in the capital.
City Hall sources said Transport for London could in theory set conditions of carriage relating to face coverings, but they suggested this would be 'very difficult'.
A spokesman for Mr Khan said: 'Evidence shows that the wearing of facemasks gives many Londoners the confidence that they can travel safely on public transport.
'People feeling confident they can travel on our Tubes, buses and trains as they get busier will be a vital part of encouraging more people into central London as restrictions are lifted further, and it is something that we will continue to look at closely.'
The Scottish government has said there will be an 'ongoing need' for face coverings when all restrictions are lifted north of the border on August 9. It said that while measures were 'under review' people could still be expected to wear masks on public transport and in shops.
UK ministers are also expected to relax contact tracing rules so people who have been double-vaccinated do not have to isolate for ten days and can instead take voluntary tests. But this may not come into force on July 19 and may not be announced today.
It comes as a SAGE psychologist has lashed out at Sajid Javid's 'frightening' plan to scrap lockdown by July 19 despite more than half of adults in England having received both vaccines - after the new Health Secretary urged people to live with coronavirus 'as we already do with flu'.
Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the subcommittee advising on behaviour, wrote on Twitter yesterday: 'It is frightening to have a 'Health' Secretary who still thinks Covid is flu, who is unconcerned at levels of infection, who doesn't realise that those who do best for health also do best for the economy, who wants to ditch all protections while only half of us are vaccinated.
'Above all, it is frightening to have a 'Health' Secretary who wants to make all protections a matter of personal choice when the key message of the pandemic is 'this isn't an 'I' thing, it's a 'we' thing. Your behaviour affects my health. Get your head around the 'we' concept''.
A spokesman for the Department of Health told MailOnline: 'The Health Secretary did not say Covid was like flu. He said we need to learn to live with it and find ways to cope with it - in the same way as we do with flu.'
The broadside from the University of St Andrews academic comes after Mr Javid, who replaced disgraced Matt Hancock last weekend after the former Health Secretary was caught flouting lockdown with his mistress, called the health reasons for lifting restrictions 'compelling'.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, the new Health Secretary says the UK is 'on track' to escape almost every vestige of lockdown on July 19, adding: 'We will have a country that is not just freer, but healthier, too.'
But he makes no secret of the challenges he faces as Health Secretary, admitting that he has 'the biggest in-tray I've had at any department - and I've run five'.
The British Medical Association also fears ending lockdown will have a 'devastating' impact on on people's health, the NHS, the economy and education. It wants some restrictions, such as wearing face masks in enclosed spaces, to remain in place beyond July 19.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chairman, said: 'We are not asking for a full delay on July 19, rather a series of sensible, targeted measures that will help prevent transmission of the virus while having a minimal impact on people's daily lives.'
However, other experts said masks have only reduced infection risk a 'little' and it is 'probably the right time' to consider ditching them. SAGE adviser Dr Mike Tildesley told BBC Breakfast: 'I think probably if we are going to remove them, July 19 when we are seeing really low numbers of hospital admissions and low number of deaths, is probably the right time to consider it.' (Daily Mail)