Javid warns numbers will get worse before better

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has told MPs the Government's approach to easing lockdown restrictions is "about balancing the harms that are caused by Covid with the undeniable harms that restrictions bring".

Mr J avid said" sadly the case numbers will get a lot worse before they get better–we could reach 100,000 cases a day later in the summer".

Although hospital admissions will also rise further but they are "far lower than they were at this point during the previous wave" and the vaccines had "severely weakened" the link between people catchingcorona virus and ending up developing serious illness and possibly dying, Mr Javid said.

While the legal restrictions are going, guidance will make clear that people and firms are expected to continue to take action to limit the spread of the virus.

A series of guidance documents will set out what is expected of firms as the Government shifts responsibility from the state to company bosses and citizens.

This includes new guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable, those most at risk from coronavirus.

A further review will be carried out in September to assess the nation's preparedness for autumn and winter.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told Mr Javid he had adopted a" high risk, indeed fatalistic approach" and" instead of caution he's pushing his foot down on the accelerator while throwing the seat belts off".

The Confederation of British Industry's chief UK policy director Matthew Fell said: "With the economy in England fully reopen soon, we're now entering a brand new phase to the pandemic: living with the virus.”