Boris Johnson could make an announcement this week on whether Plan B rules will end in England, Downing Street has suggested.
Ministers are increasingly hopeful that work-from-home guidance and Covid passes for nightclubs can be axed next Wednesday 26 January.
But reports claim the third big plank of Plan B - compulsory face masks in shops and public transport - will be extended.
Previously, the announcement on new Plan B rules was made a week in advance - which would be this Wednesday.
Downing Street did not commit to a timeline, but said any announcement will be “ahead of January 26” and the “maximum time possible” before next Wednesday.
"I think you'd expect us, as we've always sought to do, [to] give the maximum amount of time possible for the public and business to prepare,” Boris Johnson ’s spokesman said.
"I don't have a specific date for you. But certainly we will look to announce our position in advance of those changes coming into effect, should there be changes.”
No10 said there are “encouraging signs” some of the measures can be axed - echoing two ministers who’ve said they are hopeful too.
The PM’s spokesman said: “There are some encouraging signs that infections are falling across the country, we would want to see that mirrored in the latest ONS data as well.
“There are also some signs of falls or at least plateauing in admissions and occupancy in hospital, which is good to see."
However, he warned the NHS is still under significant pressure and “we are keeping a very close eye on the data”.
He added: “We’ll set out our position on Plan B ahead of January 26.”
New positive Covid cases have fallen 38% in a week with 70,924 recorded yesterday, and hospital admissions have plateaued.
But deaths are still up 42% in a week to 1,834 - and 2,423 people were admitted to hospital with Covid yesterday alone.
Earlier, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: "I'm confident that when we review this on January 26 then we'll be in a much better place to lift some of these restrictions.”
And Tory chairman Oliver Dowden said “it all seems to be heading in the right direction” and he was “hopeful and optimistic”.
Boris Johnson is said to be preparing for an announcement within days as he desperately tries to move on from the Downing Street parties scandal and Tory calls for him to quit.
The PM has reportedly prepared 'Operation Big Dog' to sack senior aides to save his own skin in a 'Night of the Long Scapegoats'.
He would also face another massive Tory revolt if he tried to extend Covid passes beyond January 26 - which would need a new Commons vote.
While Tory MPs have been infuriated by Plan B generally, it was Covid passes in nightclubs and large events that triggered 100 Tory rebels.
Keir Starmer yesterday said Plan B measures should be lifted “as soon as possible”.
But speaking to the BBC he added: “I want them to be lifted because the medical science says they should be lifted, not simply because the Prime Minister’s in a real mess and he’s desperately trying to get out of it.
“So if it’s the right thing to lift those restrictions we will vote to lift those restrictions but we will be led by the science as we always have been, not by the politics of propping up a broken Prime Minister.”
