The public should take the Prime Minister's announcement that social distancing could be scrapped in June with a "little bit of a pinch of salt", an expert has said.
Professor Stephen Reicher, from the University of St Andrews and a member of the sub-committee on behavioural science which advises the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Breakfast that "things can change very rapidly".
He added: "I think the critical issue for us now is how do we bring infections down so the data does look good, and we can relax things in two months' time, and the real important issue is this - if we take this as a signal that things are all over, if we relax and if we mix now, the paradox is we will push up the infections and will make it less likely that we can relax on June 21."
Prof Reicher said people will need to be careful of coronavirus in future, but not in a way that limits daily life.
"Even after restrictions go, it makes sense to have sensible and cautious precautions; not in a way that limit our everyday lives, not in a way that stops us seeing people or hugging people, but just realising, for instance, that on the whole, we are safer outside, don't sit too close to people, open the windows," he said.
"So we need to be sensible about this, we need to be cautious about this, and in that way I think we're much more likely to get to a space where our lives are much more back to normal, much more tolerable, where we can meet and hug our loved ones, but don't just hug anybody."
Asked about the use of face masks in the future, Prof Reicher said "the whole point is we're going to move away from prescriptions" but said people could still be sensible, such as opening windows and not sitting too close to other people.
