Thousands of scientists are urging the government not to lift lockdown rules on Monday as cases continue to soar.
From Monday July 19 all legal coronavirus rules will be scrapped, including wearing masks and the 'rule of six' for meeting indoors.
Nightclubs are set to reopen their doors and venues will be able to operate at full capacity again - reports Mirror Online.
READ MORE: Ibiza, Majorca and more countries could return to the amber list this week
But the lifting of restrictions coincides with a rise in cases, with the daily rate in the UK the highest seen since January.
A group of doctors and health experts wrote to medical journal The Lancet to raise their concerns over the planned changes.
Signatories said in the statement that the planned relaxation "involves recklessly exposing millions to the acute and long-term impacts of mass infection."
The group said: "We believe this is a terrible mistake.
"This strategy is already putting intense pressure on struggling healthcare services and will lead to many avoidable deaths and long-term illness.
"The narrative of ‘caution, vigilance and personal responsibility’ is an abdication of the government’s fundamental duty to protect public health.
"‘Personal responsibility’ does not work in the face of an airborne, highly-contagious infectious disease.
"Infectious diseases are a matter of collective, rather than individual responsibility."
More than 1,200 scientists have signed the letter to The Lancet setting out why they believe allowing mass infection in the summer is a "dangerous and unethical experiment".
Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, described a strategy of letting infection spread through a population as “moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity”.
Confirming the planned relaxation earlier this week Health Secretary Sajid Javid told MPs there will "never be a perfect time" to lift the restrictions, and added: "To those who say 'why take this step now' I say 'if not now, when?'"
Despite admitting cases could soar to 100,000 per day later in the summer, Mr Javid said the vaccine programme would prevent a surge in deaths and hospitalisations.
