‘Plan B’ rules could be relaxed next week, bringing an end to working from home and Covid-19 passports.
Oliver Dowden, Conservative party chairman, said the “signs are encouraging” that restrictions will be eased, although rules on wearing facemasks in public spaces are expected to remain.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation’s Covid chief has suggested that the pandemic in Britain might soon be over after cases fell by more than a third in a week
Last month, England switched to ‘Plan B’ restrictions, with the Government saying on 5 January that they would be extending the rules for a further three weeks to 26 January, which is when they are expected to be lifted.
The Government said Sunday the restrictions, if lifted, would be the result of the decline in omicron’s surge of infections.
"I'm under no doubt the kind of burdens [the restrictions] puts hospitality, wider business, schools and so on under, and I want us to get rid of those if we possibly can," added Dowden.
Britain’s record daily caseload for Covid topped 200,000 infections earlier this month but has now dropped to well under half of that.
If infections continue to fall at the current rate, Britain will be back to where it was when the new round of infections was imposed this week.
Positive tests have also fallen, which shows that the number of cases falling is a reflection of fewer infections rather than a lack of testing said the government.
The time required for self-isolation in England was today cut to five days, though to end isolation people suffering from Covid must return a negative lateral flow test.
Shares in hospitality groups were mixed on the news with Whitbread the best of the risers though pub owner Mitchells & Butlers was flat and JD Wetherspoon eased slightly.