Dominic Raab has said the UK must adjust to "a new normal" in the second phase of the coronavirus response, which he insisted "will not be easy".
Speaking at the daily Covid-19 press conference, the Foreign Secretary said the UK would have to balance the risk from coronavirus with the possible damage caused by the lockdown.
He added that the next phase of the coronavirus response "will not be easy" and that people will have to adapt to new safe ways to travel and go about their daily lives.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to give a more detailed update on the Government's plans to lift the lockdown later this week.
Mr Raab said: "As we consider the decisions that we will take next to protect life but also to protect our way of life, it’s now clear that the second phase will be different.
"We will need to adjust to a new normal where we as a society adapt to safe new ways to work, to travel, to interact and to go about our daily lives."
He added that the coronavirus itself and the lockdown, which began on March 23, were unprecedented in most people's lives.
Mr Raab went on: "As we go forward we want to make sure that the next phase is more comfortable, is more sustainable and prevents lasting damage to jobs and livelihoods.”
Mr Raab's comments come after the UK's coronavirus-related death toll rose by 693 on Tuesday across hospitals, care homes and wider communities.
The Foreign Secretary said the figures show that despite "evidence of a flattening of this virus", the coronavirus situation in the UK continues to be serious.
Coronavirus-linked deaths in care homes continue to rise, according to Government data, despite evidence of falling hospital admissions for the virus.
And deputy chief scientific adviser Dame Angela McLean told the press conference that care home fatalities are "a real issue that we need to get to grips with."
Meanwhile the Government fell short on its target of 100,000 tests a day for the third day running, with just short of 85,000 tests completed on Monday.
The Government has set five conditions that it says have to be met before it will lift the lockdown.
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These are: ensuring the NHS has enough room for new coronavirus patients, achieving a "sustained and consistent" drop in deaths, keeping a "manageable" level of infections, being able to supply enough protective equipment and avoiding a second peak of cases.
