FACE masks and working from home may remain after June 21, the first possible date all Covid restrictions could end.

Matt Hancock. the health secretary, has not ruled out keeping guidance on face masks and working from home in place past June 21 in a bid to allow the majority of coronavirus restrictions to be lifted, PA has reported.

Mr Hancock said while the data did not demonstrate 'we are definitively off track' with plans to move to the final stage of the unlocking process later this month, he cautioned that it was too early to tell.

Speaking at a press conference at the Jenner Institute on Wednesday night, Mr Hancock said: “There is nothing in the data to suggest we are definitively off track but it is too early to make the decision about June 21, step four in the road map.”

“We’ll make that decision based on more data in the next week to 10 days, ahead of June 14, as we’ve set out.”

He made similar comments as he spoke to reporters at Oxford University's Mansfield College, the venue for a series of meetings between G7 health ministers this week.

His comments come after Boris Johnson insisted there is 'nothing in the data at the moment' to prevent ending Covid-19 restrictions.