Coronavirus lockdown could be lifted in early March - reports

The current rules in place across England would be replaced by the localised tier system, according to The Sunday Times.

The paper claimed that British ministers have reached a deal to approve a three-point plan, with certain criteria needing to be met before any lifting of restrictions was implemented.

These criteria are:

• A drop in the number of hospital admissions 
• A drop in the Covid-19 death rate
• A number of people aged between 50 and 70 having been vaccinated

A quiet Brighton seafront while the city was under Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions

Areas which perform favourably against these three criteria will be placed into lower tiers and face less stringent Covid prevention measures.

Downing Street has declined to comment on these reports.

This news come as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab pledged that every adult in the UK will be offered a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by September.

The Conservative MP said it would be "great" if the rollout could be faster but that the government was working to the early autumn target.

• READ MORE: Boris Johnson was asked when the government would lift lockdown restrictions - this is what he said

In an interview on Sky's Sophy Ridge this morning, Mr Raab said: "Our target is by September to have offered all the adult population a first dose.

"If we can do it faster than that, great, but that's the roadmap."

He said that he hoped by the "early spring" some restrictions can be lifted "gradually" so the country can "get back to normal".

Mr Raab warned, however, that it could be put "at risk" by the new variants and pressure on the NHS as he urged people to follow the rules.

More than 3.5 million people in the UK have now received their first dose of a vaccine and some 324,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines were administered in the space of 24 hours.

Dominic Raab

The Foreign Secretary also said people should not go on holiday as he stressed the NHS is "on the cusp".

"We've just got to stay at home as much as possible unless there are really strong, limited exceptional reasons for travelling domestically or internationally, and that's the way we get through to a better place."

Asked about reports that ministers could introduce quarantine hotels, he said the government has "considered all of the possibilities" and has strengthened checks.

• READ MORE: Drivers in Brighton slapped with Covid fines after giving bizarre excuses as to why they were on the roads

When pressed on whether there would be enough vaccine supply for someone to get their second dose within 12 weeks, he said "we ought to" be able to deliver.

There were 1,295 Covid deaths in the UK were reported on Saturday, the third-highest daily total since the pandemic began, but the lowest number of lab-confirmed cases this year was reported - 41,346.

The figures will be seen as a sign that infections may be levelling off or falling as a result of the lockdown measures, though scientists believe the peak in deaths will come later.