Face masks could still be needed even after 'Freedom Day' amid an "alarming" rise of Covid cases.
England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty has privately predicted people will still need to wear face coverings when in confined spaces after July 19, according to The Times.
Although Prof Whitty has always insisted decisions over policy are for ministers, he has reportedly suggested to colleagues people might still need to wear masks when social distancing is not possible in enclosed spaces such as public transport.
It comes after repeated warnings from the chief medical officer that Covid is likely to return in the winter.
Polling for The Times suggested that half of voters would continue wearing face masks on public transport or in shops even if it's not enforced.
Only a third of those voting in the poll last week said they definitely would go 'mask free'.
Leading doctors are also urging the Government to keep some measures in place in England after July 19 in a bid to help control the spread of Covid amid the "alarming" rise in cases.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said that keeping some protective measures in place was "crucial" to stop spiralling cases numbers having a "devastating impact" on people's health, the NHS, the economy and education.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said easing restrictions was not an "all or nothing" decision, and that "sensible, cautious" measures will be vital to minimising the impact of further waves, new variants and lockdowns.
He added: "As case numbers continue to rise at an alarming rate due to the rapid transmission of the Delta variant and an increase in people mixing with one another, it makes no sense to remove restrictions in their entirety in just over two weeks' time.
"The promise was to make decisions based on data and not dates, and while we were pleased to see the Government react to data in delaying the easing on June 21 last month, ministers must not now simply disregard the most recent, damning, numbers by rushing into meeting their new July 19 deadline."
Earlier this week Boris Johnson's spokesman refused to rule out keeping some legal restrictions - such as masks on public transport - after July 19 in England.
Boris Johnson will unveil plans for England's so-called Freedom Day in the "next few days".
The PM told reporters he will speak in the coming days about what life will look like after July 19, including foreign travel for Brits who've had both doses of a vaccine.
Mr Johnson said that despite daily cases soaring over 26,000, "that is not translating into a big increase in serious illness and death."
"It looks ever clearer that… the speed of that vaccine rollout has broken that link between infection and mortality and that’s an amazing thing," he declared. "That gives us the scope, we think on the 19th to go ahead, cautiously, irreversibly."
But he also warned some restrictions could remain - as his spokesman refused to rule out keeping mask rules on public transport.
During a visit to a Nissan plant in Sunderland, the Prime Minister told reporters: "I know how impatient people are to get back to total normality, as indeed am I.
"I will be setting in the course of the next few days what step four will look like exactly.
"But I think I've said it before, we'll be wanting to go back to a world that is as close to the status quo, ante-Covid, as possible. Try to get back to life as close to it was before Covid.
"But there may be some things we have to do, extra precautions that we have to take, but I'll be setting them out."
