Ministers are not expecting any winter lockdowns this year, according to Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Concerns had been raised last week over a potential October ‘firebreak’ lockdown in the event of rising case numbers, but these fears appear to have now been alleviated.
Mr Javid said: “I don’t think (a lockdown) is something we need to consider.
“I haven’t even thought about that as an option at this point.”
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The Health Secretary maintains that the “best defence” against another wave of Coronavirus, and the best way to avoid a further lockdown, is the vaccination programme.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Javid praised the impact of the vaccines, saying: “Vaccines are working. Yes, there are still infections, of course there still are. That's true around the world.
“But the number of people going into hospital, and certainly those dying, is mercifully low, and that's because of the vaccines.”
However, the Health Secretary did urge people to remain cautious.
During his interview with the BBC, mr Javid said: “There’s a lot of defences…that we need to keep in place because this virus hasn’t gone anywhere.
“There’s still a pandemic so of course, we need to remain cautious. But we just shouldn’t be doing things for the sake of it or because others are doing, and we should look at every possible intervention properly.”
Ministers have been playing down reports of a ‘firebreak’ lockdown ahead of Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing his winter Covid plans tomorrow.
The PM is expected to announce how he anticipates the country will begin to live with the virus over the coming winter months.
On Tuesday, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said he had not seen any plans for an October lockdown, even in the event of rising cases.
When asked about potential lockdown plans, Zahawi said: “No, I haven’t seen any.
“vaccines have given us the ability to reduce infections, to save 100,000 lives.
“It is through the booster programme that I hope... We can transition the virus from pandemic to endemic status and deal with it year in, year out.
“It is going to be with us for many years but not have to close down our economy or take the severe measures we had to sadly take in December of last year.”
A further 56 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Coronavirus, as of the latest figures on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 134,200.
29,173 new lab-confirmed cases were also announced in the latest figures.
