Health secretary Matt Hancock has said that cases of the South Africa and Brazil coronavirus variants are falling in the UK due to enhanced contract tracing measures and stricter border rules.
The minister told Sky News on Sunday that there was evidence that measures to control the spread of the concerning variants, which have been found to reduce vaccine efficacy, were working.
It came after Boris Johnson promised to offer all adults in the UK a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of July as he prepares to unveil his road map for relaxing lockdown restrictions in England on Monday.
The prime minister has spent the past week considering data on deaths, cases, hospital admissions and the effect of the vaccine rollout with his scientific advisers.
The road map will also include a more ambitious target for vaccinating all adults aged over 50, as well as those with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk, by 15 April.
