Boris Johnson will confirm he is axing self-isolation laws and curbing free coronavirus tests as he unveils the Government’s “Living with Covid” plan.
The Prime Minister will bid to curry favour with rebellious Tory backbenchers who hold his fate in their hands over the Partygate scandal as he announces the strategy.
Buckingham Palace’s bombshell admission that the Queen has tested positive for the virus failed to derail No10’s plan to scrap measures.
The PM said: “Today will mark a moment of pride after one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history as we begin to learn to live with Covid.
“It would not be possible without the efforts of so many – the NHS who delivered the lifesaving vaccine rollout at phenomenal speed, our world-leading scientists and experts, and the general public for their commitment to protecting themselves and their loved ones.
“The pandemic is not over but thanks to the incredible vaccine rollout we are now one step closer towards a return to normality and finally giving people back their freedoms while continuing to protect ourselves and others.”
Figures on Sunday showed another 25,696 cases and 74 deaths, with reporting often leading to lower numbers on weekends.
Government advisers have warned that lifting restrictions will trigger a fresh surge.
But Downing Street insisted “the phenomenal success of the vaccine programme and our improved understanding of the virus” meant “we can now move away from government intervention towards personal responsibility”.
Some 91.4% of over-12s have received a first jab, 85% a second and 66.1% a third or booster dose, according to latest statistics.
Cabinet ministers will meet on Monday morning to rubber-stamp the plan, which the PM will present to the Commons in the afternoon.
He is also expected to host a Downing Street press conference.
"I'm not saying that we should throw caution to the winds, but now is the moment for everybody to get their confidence back," Mr Johnson told BBC1’s Sunday Morning programme.
"We've reached a stage where we think you can shift the balance away from state mandation, away from banning certain courses of action - compelling certain courses of action - in favour of encouraging personal responsibility."
Signalling free tests will be axed, he added: “I think we need resilience but …. on testing, we don’t need to keep spending at a rate of £2billion pounds a month, which is what we were doing in January.”
But the move was blasted by Labour.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News: “It's a bit like being 2-1 up with 10 minutes left to play and subbing your best defender.
"We are not out of the woods yet on Covid.”
Accusing Mr Johnson of trying to detract attention from the police probe into boozy Downing Street parties, the Labour frontbencher added: “It seems like Boris Johnson is keen to declare victory before the war is over in the hope that he gets some headlines about ‘victory day on Covid’ instead of police officers asking questions about actions in No10.”
The Trades Union Congress urged the PM to “put public health first” - and warned that charging for tests “in the middle of a cost of living crisis” would be an “act of madness”.
It also demanded a shake-up of statutory sick pay, currently worth £96.35 a week.
General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We are all looking forward to getting on with our lives, but the Prime Minister must put the country and public health first – not his backbenchers
“That means fixing our broken sick pay system once and for all.”
She added: “Free tests must remain in place for all those who need them. This is crucial for work place and public safety.”
Government advisers SAGE last week warned that cases could rise “rapidly” as mandatory quarantine ends and free tests are axed.
Transmission could rise by between 25% to 80% if people “return to pre-pandemic behaviours and no mitigations”, it said.
NHS Confederation chairman Lord Adebowale said: “Learning to ‘live with Covid’ doesn’t mean abandoning all precautions.
“I’m very concerned and so is the NHS Confederation and others.”
He added: “We don’t know that the virus is in a benign state, it could mutate and we could be facing a more dangerous virus, so we need to be monitoring.
“One of the ways we monitor is through testing - if testing isn’t free people won’t test, especially the poor.”
Professor Danny Altmann, of Imperial College London, said: "We will be flying blind.
“Data collection is the only trick up our sleeve to know about new variants coming round the corner."
Government minister James Cleverly said councils will take on responsibility for Covid-19 response once restrictions are relaxed.
But the Local Government Association’s David Fothergil said: “Although vaccination now means many can live a more normal existence alongside the virus, it is clear that Covid-19 is not going away.
“As national systems are scaled back, it’s important that local public health teams still have the tools they need so they can respond to new variants and tackle outbreaks, particularly in higher risk settings.”
Senior statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter said some form of the Office for National Statistics' coronavirus study should remain in place.
The Cambridge University professor, who is a non-executive director for the ONS and chairman of the advisory board for the Covid Infection Survey, said: "It has been absolutely so important as we have gone along.”
