Matt Hancock hopes Covid restrictions will be lifted by spring, but warns measures could get tougher during winter

Matt Hancock has said he hopes coronavirus restrictions will lifted by the spring, as he echoed comments from the head of the UK’s vaccine taskforce that travelling abroad for summer holidays could be possible in 2021.

As he appeared to outline a path back to relative normality after months of curbs on freedoms, the health secretary, however, also warned that tougher measures may be needed during the winter months if cases of the virus surge.

His comments came just moments after the NHS embarked on the mammoth task of administering Covid-19 vaccines – several days after the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was approved by Britain’s medicine regulator.

Mr Hancock, who appeared visibly emotional when videos of the first vaccinations were played to him during a morning broadcast round, said he “millions” of doses of the vaccine would arrive in the UK by the end of the year.

On easing restrictions, Kate Bingham, the outgoing chief of the government’s vaccine taskforce, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that her gut feeling “is that we will all be going on summer holidays” next year.

She said it is “likely” those individuals most at risk from Covid-19 will be vaccinated through to April, before the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and Department of Health consider how to broaden out jabs to the rest of the adult population.

“I think by the summer we should be in a much better place to get on planes,” she added. “I don’t think we’re going to get away from this virus ever, so we’re going to have to maintain sensible hygiene and washing hands and so.

“But I would like this vaccine to become as routine as an annual flu jab and that we manage it, rather than get bowed down by it.”

Asked whether Ms Bingham’s timetable appeared correct, Mr Hancock also told the programme:“Yes it does, we’ve said that we think from the spring things can start getting back to normal and because we’ve been able to get this vaccination programme going sooner than anywhere else in the world we’ll be able to bring that date forward a bit.

“I have great hopes from summer 2021 and I hope we can lift the restrictions from the spring.”

But the health secretary also warned that more stringent measures may be required in the coming months if infections of Covid-19 rise once again, as government ministers prepare to review the tiered areas next week.

He said: “This is an incredibly important moment on the march out of this pandemic, but we’ve still got a long march to go this winter. People need to keep respecting the rules and try to live in a way that if you have the virus infects as few people as possible.

“And we are seeing rising number of cases in parts of Essex, parts of Kent and parts of London in particular and we’ve got to keep this under control.”

Sir Patrick Vallance, the government chief scientific adviser, told Sky News that face masks could still be required late into next year, adding the vaccine is “going to take quite a long time to make sure everybody in the at-risk groups and all of the groups that are difficult to reach get vaccinated as appropriate”.