Ministers have declared there is 'nothing' in the data to suggest that further Covid restrictions will be needed in England despite the recent surge in cases.
Edward Argar, a minister at the Department of Health and Social Care, said he was 'seeing nothing at the moment in the data right in front of me in the immediate situation that suggests a need for further restrictions'.
'We need cool, calm heads,' Argar said in an interview with Times Radio. 'We need to look at the data and we need to do everything possible to avoid any restrictions.'
Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay said that an uptake in testing showed that 'the British public are taking sensible steps to keep themselves safe'.
'We've seen significant behaviour change as a result of Plan B. That's why there has been such a demand for testing in recent weeks,' he said.
'That, combined with the booster programme, is the key way as a country that we will avoid the need for further measures.'
The ministers' comments come as Britain's Covid-19 infections increased by almost 15 per cent in the space of a week, but latest figures show the number of deaths have decreased by 23 per cent.
Conversely, Scotland's national clinical director has said that the country's ban on large public gatherings amid high Covid cases could last well into the spring, prompting concerns it could be a final blow to hospitality firms.
Pub, restaurant and nightclub bosses believe firms in Edinburgh missed out on around £20 million on Hogmanay due to coronavirus measures, but Professor Jason Leitch dismissed calls for the famous New Year street party to be rescheduled to April, saying it would be too soon for mass events.
His comments come as hospitality firms continue to struggle under Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's restrictions, which mean pubs and restaurants must have table service only and one metre social distancing between groups.
Night clubs were closed on December 27 for at least three weeks, and officials have been warned that some hospitality businesses currently closed will not reopen due to the impact of Sturgeon's tough restrictions in recent weeks.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Steve Barclay (pictured) said that an uptake in testing showed that 'the British public are taking sensible steps to keep themselves safe', while a health minister said he had seen 'nothing' in the data to suggest the need for further Covid measures in England
Pub, restaurant and nightclub bosses believe firms in Edinburgh missed out on around £20 million on Hogmanay due to coronavirus measures. But national clinical director Jason Leitch (L) dismissed calls for the famous New Year street party to be rescheduled to April, meaning restrictions brought in by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (R) are likely to last until spring.
Department of Health data has revealed a further 137,583 Covid cases in its daily update which marks an increase of 17,660 on the figures given for Boxing Day, while figures on New Year's Day showed a 33.4 per cent week-on-week increase in new cases.
This is the twelfth day in a row that cases have been above the 100,000 mark as the country moves out of the festive season, while in recent days the week-on-week increase in new cases has been as high as 72.5% (Dec. 29).
The Government advised that the data provided could be incomplete due to inconsistency in reporting over the holiday period, with today's Covid figures for Scotland not available. Hospitalisation data is also not updated on Sundays.
It comes as official figures revealed nearly one in 10 NHS workers were off sick over New Year's Eve as coronavirus continued to hit the health service.
Meanwhile, secondary school pupils will be told to wear face masks from the moment they arrive until they leave when they return to classrooms this week.
In an effort to protect the education of millions of youngsters amid a sharp rise in cases of the Omicron variant, Ministers have
