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 Under a road map outlined by Johnson in February, the government
said all social restrictions would be lifted "no earlier" than June
21, when pubs, restaurants, nightclubs and other hospitality venues
could fully reopen.
But in recent weeks there has been fast growth in new cases caused
by the Delta variant, first discovered in India, which health
officials believe to be 60% more transmissible than the previous
dominant strain and scientists warn could trigger a third wave of
infections.
Johnson has not denied suggestions in the media that the end of
lockdown would be delayed by up to a month, saying in recent days
there was "serious concern" about rising infections and
hospitalisations.
"We're continuing to look at the data, no final decision has been
taken and the right time to fill everybody in on what we're going to
do with ... June the 21st is tomorrow," Johnson told reporters after
a Group of Seven summit on Sunday.
Junior health minister Ed Argar said on Monday he expected Johnson
to announce more aid for business if there was a delay in easing
capacity constraints.
"I know that when he addresses his decision, sets out what he
intends to do around the easing on the 21st, he will address those
points as well," Argar told Sky News.
"He is very mindful of the need for businesses and others to get the
support they need if they continue to be locked down or unable to
open," Argar added.
Britain's furlough programme supports just over 2 million jobs and
is due to continue until the end of September. But from July
employers will have to pay 10% of furloughed staff's wages, rising
to 30% in September.
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 The hospitality industry has
also called for an extension of other
sector-specific aid.
Deutsche Bank estimated last week that a
four-week delay would temporarily reduce gross
domestic product by around 0.25% - a fraction of
the historic 9.8% slump recorded in 2020.
On Sunday, Britain recorded 7,490 new COVID-19 cases and eight
deaths, with new infections rising almost 50% between June 7 and 13
compared with the previous week. Hospitalisations were up 15%
between June 2 and 8 compared with the previous seven days.
The government has stressed any easing of restrictions would be
irreversible, meaning it would always act with caution.
The hesitancy comes despite Britain having one of the fastest
vaccine rollouts in the world. More than 41 million people have
received their first shot and nearly 30 million have had both doses
- about 57% of the adult population.
Foreign minister Dominic Raab said the critical issue was data on
whether people infected were becoming ill enough to need hospital
treatment.
(Additional reporting by Sarah Young and David Milliken; Editing by
Andrew Heavens and Giles Elgood)
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