Britain's shops could still re-open next week despite the coronavirus warning level remaining stubbornly at four - the second-highest level.
Non-essential retail is expected to be allowed to open from next Monday. When the alert level system was introduced by Boris Johnson said it was intended to help the government decide how tough social-distancing measures should be.
At level five, which Britain saw at the height of the pandemic, social distancing was to be extreme and contact was supposed to be incredibly limited.
When it was announced Mr Johnson suggested that once Britain moved to level three, where the virus is still in general circulation but the NHS is not at risk of being overwhelmed, that social distancing measures would be