Enforced mask wearing will end and social distancing will no longer be required as part of “freedom day” unlocking on July 19, according to widespread reports.

It comes as Covid cases are soaring across Kent - with almost one in 100 people testing positive in some parts of the county.

Yet deaths from the virus remain far lower than during previous waves, thanks to the success of the vaccine roll-out.

Boris Johnson is understood to be preparing to update the nation this week on his plans for easing coronavirus restrictions in England.

Multiple newspapers are this morning suggesting the Prime Minister believes a host of domestic measures can end on his “terminus date”.

Separately, the newly-appointed health secretary Sajid Javid says there are “compelling” health reasons to ease lockdown measures.

According to The Sunday Times, mask wearing will become voluntary in all settings and the one metre-plus rule in hospitality venues will end, meaning a return to drinking at the bar without the requirement for table service.

Mass events, including festivals, will also be allowed under the proposals for the final stage of the roadmap out of lockdown, the paper says.

The government also expects to receive the results of the taskforce reviews into the use of so-called vaccine passports and the future of social distancing to be made available this week, according to the Sunday Express.

In Kent, weekly cases more than doubled (up 114.5%) in the week up to June 28, while in Medway the increase was 76.3%.

The rise is being driven by huge outbreaks in certain places - such as on the University of Kent's Canterbury campus and neighbourhoods nearby.

In Blean Forest, Chartham Hatch & University, the Covid infection rate has rocketed to 967.4 per 100,000 people. While in St Stephen's it is 952.1.

That means in these neighbourhoods almost one in every 100 people is testing positive for the virus. Yet several parts of the county remain virtually Covid-free.

Since the start of June, just six deaths from the virus have been recorded in Kent and Medway.

When cases were last this high in the county, at the end of January, there were 25 Covid deaths being recorded on average every week.

The total is much lower during this wave following the roll-out of the vaccine, with 60.9% of people in Kent now having had both doses. Cases are currently most prevalent in those aged in their early 20s or late teens.

Meanwhile, there are currently 11 people with the virus in Kent's hospitals. In January, the number peaked at a staggering 1,361.

With the virus having a much less severe impact on people's health this time around, Mr Javid writes in the Mail on Sunday: “The economic arguments for opening up are well known, but for me, the health arguments are equally compelling.

“The pandemic has hit some groups disproportionately hard. Rules that we have had to put in place have caused a shocking rise in domestic violence and a terrible impact on so many people’s mental health.”

Meanwhile, Downing Street on Saturday confirmed proposals to scrap quarantine requirements for those who have received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine are under “consideration”.

A No 10 source said it was looking at whether to drop all legal self-isolation measures for fully vaccinated people who come into contact with someone who is infected as a possibility for life after stage four of the roadmap.

The hospitality industry, however, said such a move would not lift pressures it is currently under as a result of the NHS Test and Trace app, which bosses said was “casting the net quite wide” in terms of who it pings as a close contact of a positive case, leading to mass shutdowns of venues.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said pubs were “closing or greatly reducing their opening hours due to staff shortages caused by app pings”, despite staff testing negative for coronavirus using quick-result tests.

But reports have suggested the call for action from the trade has been heard by ministers. The Sunday Times says the need to scan a QR code before entering bars, restaurants and other venues, such as museums, will become a thing of the past after July 19 – a change that would mean less chance of punters and staff being told to self-isolate by Test and Trace.

The newspaper quotes a Downing Street source who said that while modelling predicted that unlocking would lead to more cases, the success of the vaccine roll-out meant the government was “confident there will be no risk of additional pressure on the NHS”.

The possibility of a wholesale easing of restrictions will come as a blow to senior doctors, who had petitioned for some measures to remain in place to arrest the “alarming” rise in Covid-19 cases in England.

It comes as the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that about one in 260 people in private households in England had Covid in the week to June 26 – up from one in 440 in the previous week and the highest level since the week to February 27.

The British Medical Association (BMA) had said that keeping some protective measures in place was “crucial” to stop spiralling case numbers having a “devastating impact” on people’s health, the NHS, the economy and education.

Asked about the reports of lockdown easing, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “No decisions have been made but more details will be set out soon.”

Read more: All the latest Covid news

Read more: All the latest Kent news