Government ministers are plotting the end of the coronavirus lockdown amid fears that many businesses won't survive if it continues beyond June.
A team has been tasked with drafting options where restrictions would be lifted only when the number of new hospital admissions begins to drop, it is reported.
When Boris Johnson announced the lockdown two weeks ago, he said the unprecedented measures would be in place until April 13 and then reviewed, but no change is expected next week.
The death toll has soared amid signs that the infection rate is starting to slow, although the peak of Britain's epidemic won't come for another two to three weeks.