The Health Secretary’s questioning comes as the weekly coronavirus deaths registered in England and Wales reach their highest level since mid-May, according to the latest figures. However, the number of deaths has been fluctuating at about 100 for the last few weeks, and it is too early to say whether the latest rise marks the start of an upwards trend.

       As confirmed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the coronavirus press conference yesterday, England is due to enter Step 4 of the Government's road map out of COVID-19 restrictions next Monday, July 19.

       It will see the scrapping of most remaining restrictions, including the legal requirement to wear a face mask, social distancing and limits on how many people can gather.

       The Government has acknowledged that there will be more cases, hospital admissions and deaths as the country moves into the next step.

       Mr Javid, who took over as Health Secretary after Matt Hancock’s resignation for breaking social distancing rules, has stated his key priority is getting the country “out of this pandemic”.

       The plan has come under attack from the leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, who warned Boris Johnson was leading the country into a “summer of chaos and confusion”.

       It comes as tens of thousands of further cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus have been recorded in the UK over the last week, new figures reveal.

       Across the UK, 54,268 more cases were recorded in the last week to reach a total of 216,249 – a 34 percent increase.

       PHE said the Delta variant currently accounts for around 99 percent of cases that are sequenced in the UK.

       The spike in cases has put pressure on the Prime Minister's roadmap out of lockdown.

       READ MORE: Boris Johnson give go-ahead for Covid curbs to be lifted next Monday

       It will take people "some time" to get over the fear and anxiety that has arisen as a result of the pandemic, a sociology expert has said.

       Robert Dingwall, professor of sociology at Nottingham Trent University, said the concerns which have arisen over the last 15 months would take time to subside as people get used to living with Covid-19 as an infection which circulates in society.

       Professor Dingwall said that it was time for the Government to "make a much more conscious shift towards positive messaging" around coronavirus.

       "I think the situation that we're dealing with now is really more of a psychological one than an epidemiological one.

       "Over the last couple of weeks the data haven't really changed, the science hasn't really changed, but I think we have seen the consequences of the levels of fear and anxiety that have been generated in the population over the last 12 to 15 months,” he added.

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