British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the latest Covid-19 data was positive but people should still be cautious about the possibility of a new surge in cases.
"I agree that there are some encouraging signs," Mr Johnson said. "But the whole point is, remember where we were last summer.
"We had the disease down to levels much below where it is today and then we saw what happened with the spike."
The government on Monday took its first major step in easing lockdown restrictions by reopening schools.
“Today we’ve been able to take that crucial first step on what we hope is our cautious but irreversible roadmap to freedom,” Mr Johnson said. “The overwhelming feeling is one of relief.”
More than one third of the UK population has received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine as deaths from the disease continue to fall.
Britain is leading Europe with its vaccination programme and aims to offer inoculations to all adults by the end of July.
Shops and some pubs can reopen on April 12.
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said the vaccine campaign was causing deaths to decline more rapidly than other indicators, such as case numbers and hospital admissions, but she warned about the risk of another wave.
Dr Harries said that testing children for the virus would take time to settle down, and that she was optimistic schools would not have to close again.
“There may be a very short period at the start of this programme where everybody gets used to it, and a larger number of children come out of school,” she said.
“It’s really important that when observing this, people think through the next three to four weeks, not the first one to two.”
