Andy Burnham says the extra Covid-19 curbs in force across Greater Manchester could 'possibly' be relaxed later this week.
The mayor of Greater Manchester said he believes restrictions could remain - and possibly tighten - in areas with high rate of infection, but be eased in other areas where cases have fallen.
Mr Burnham said Greater Manchester's coronavirus cases were 'flattening' - apart from in Oldham.
As a result, he said restrictions limiting different households from mixing in homes and gardens could be lifted by Government.
Mr Burnham told the Mirror : "Hopefully, we will begin to see some people getting released.
"If things stay as they are I think it is likely that we would see a change.”
"Our cases are flattening - with one exception, Oldham - and we are starting to turn the tide in most of our boroughs.
"The hope is, maybe we will have a better time ahead of us."
Weekly reviews of the restrictions - which were introduced three weeks ago this Thursday across Greater Manchester - were promised by Government.
They also remain in force in parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
Mr Burnham said he believed the 'blanket approach will start to be undone'.
Infection rates for Greater Manchester, published on Saturday, showed Oldham had 108.4 cases per 100,000 people, Rochdale 46.3, Manchester 42.3, Salford 32.8 and Tameside 31.8.
The UK-wide average case rate is 17.3 per 100,000.
Mr Burnham said Wigan has 'far fewer cases' and could be first to have rules lifted.
He said that if cases have stabilised, 'the case for releasing boroughs with fewer cases is pretty much made'.
Asked by the Mirror if the change could come this week, he said: "Possibly.
"The numbers can change quite dramatically in four, five days."
But he warned that other parts of the region could be stuck with restrictions for some time.
"It's a really tough time for everybody," the mayor added.
"It's probably not going to get any easier any time soon. We have had high numbers of cases. It's not just isolated hotspots."
Full lockdown in worst-hit areas would be 'profoundly damaging', Mr Burnham added, and called for Government to put more resources into communities with the highest rates of Covid-19.
Last week's mayoral coronavirus press conference was told the rate in Wigan was 7.3 positive tests per 100,000 people, the lowest in Greater Manchester.
Wigan was followed by Trafford, Stockport and Bury.
The mayor said a possible relaxation in areas like Wigan was 'a question' for this week.
"It is a challenging situation we are looking at across Greater Manchester," Mr Burnham said.
"We clearly need to bring the numbers down.
"Everyone needs to get more serious about doing what we can - pubs, restaurants, supermarkets."
