Public health bosses have issued a stark warning ahead of the first date in the Government's roadmap.
From Monday, March 8 the first step in the route out of lockdown will mean schools and colleges can start to welcome back students that have been learning from home.
It is the first marker on the road back to normality for Nottinghamshire and the rest of the country.
But health bosses want to ensure people understand this is not the time to start relaxing and stray from the other restrictions that are still in place.
Speaking on Friday, March 5 Jonathan Gribbin, director for Public Health in Nottinghamshire confirmed every area of the county was showing a reduction in Covid-19 rates.
But in some areas, figures were still high and not dropping quickly.
Mr Gribbin said: "Although we approach the starting line of the roadmap with a strong sense of hope and optimism, as we look forward to the freedoms which we can expect later on in the year, I think it's really important to underline and to remember that coronavirus continues to exact quite a severe toll on us.
"Although the rates are heading in the right direction, they're still at a very high level.
"And for that reason, some of the messages we want to pass on will once again mingle that optimism and positivity with a really strong note of caution.
"Over the last week, every area of Nottinghamshire has seen a reduction in rates.
"That said, the trajectory downwards has been slower than many parts of the county and it still leaves us significantly higher than the England average.
"If we were to come out of lockdown measures with rates at this kind of level it would leave us extremely vulnerable to a resurgence which would threaten our NHS."
Mr Gribbin said Ashfield had the highest rate per 100,000 at 181, with Mansfield not far behind with 168 and are both in the top 10 highest rates in England.
The area with the lowest rate was Rushcliffe at 121.
Alison Challenger, Public Health director for the city, said Nottingham's rate was 157 putting it in the top 20 worst affected areas in the country.
The national average is currently 86 per 100,000.
Mr Gribbin added: "That road that we've got ahead of us is still a long road, and while we can celebrate the good news around the vaccine and other good things, it's absolutely essential that across Nottinghamshire we continue to follow all the rules.
"If we start to find shortcuts, we are likely to slip off the road and find ourselves in hazards that we absolutely need to avoid."
