Retailers have spoken of their excitement ahead of the expected next step along the roadmap to ease England's lockdown, which will see non-essential shops reopen on 12 April.
Lindsey Birney, who owns Mr Wolf's toy shop in Hexham and Newcastle, says she has been surprised by a hike in local online sales including click-and-collect and doorstep deliveries since December - but can't wait to open her doors once more.
"We would never, ever, go to just being an online company. The thing about toy stores is they should be a place where kids with their birthday money [come] and it's shops like ours that provide that experience that keep High Streets alive," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She expects to reopen across seven days but won't be taking advantage of rule changes that allow her to open until 22:00 BST.
Ian Finlayson, from the Liverpool One shopping centre, said he was "cautiously optimistic" that footfall will return, given last year's experience.
He thinks that for many the current lockdown has been the hardest of all and he expects "quite a healthy number of people" returning to physical shopping, potentially back to normal levels by June.
Finlayson said that there was a "clamour" among his retail tenants to open until 20:00 with some opening until 22:00.
Everyone in England is to be given access to two rapid coronavirus tests a week from Friday, under an extension of the government's testing programme.
The lateral flow kits, which can provide results in around 30 minutes, will be available for free at testing sites, pharmacies and through the post.
The health secretary said it would help squash any outbreaks as lockdown eases.
But critics of the programme say it risks becoming a "scandalous" waste of money.
It comes as Boris Johnson is due to meet the cabinet to sign off the next stage of lockdown easing in England, which will see non-essential shops reopen and pubs and restaurants start serving outdoors from 12 April.
Later, the prime minister will hold a Downing Street briefing, where he is expected to confirm countries will be graded under a traffic light system when international leisure travel resumes.
He is also set to outline plans for coronavirus passports - recording whether people had been vaccinated, recently tested negative or had natural immunity - as a means of enabling mass-audience events to take place in the future.
However, dozens of MPs oppose the use of Covid passports and Mr Johnson faces the prospect of a rebellion among a number of senior Conservatives if he proceeds with them.
Lateral flow tests are already offered to school children and their families plus those who have to leave home for work.
The prime minister hailed the plan to offer everyone testing from 9 April, saying: "As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme and with our road map cautiously easing restrictions under way, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted."
The rapid tests are aimed at those without any Covid symptoms and can be taken at home.
The government introduced lateral flow testing for secondary school children and staff earlier this year, under plans to reopen classes in England by March.
In February, the scheme was extended to the families of all school and college-age children in England.
Kits were also offered to those who cannot work from home in the pandemic, so they can be tested twice a week.
From 9 April, kits will be available through:
Community testing sites operated by local authorities
Collection from a nearby PCR test site during specific time windows
Existing workplace testing programmes
An online home ordering service with kits then delivered through the post
Participating local pharmacies where a box of 7 tests can be collected to be used twice a week at home
Anyone who tests positive using a lateral flow test will be expected to self-isolate along with their household. They can then order a second PCR Covid test, typically used for symptomatic cases, which will be sent off to a laboratory for analysis.
If the confirmatory test comes back negative, their quarantine period is considered over immediately and they can resume normal life.
The schools testing programme, combined with the wider use of workplace testing, has led to a jump in the number of lateral flow tests carried out in England.
There were about 250,000 rapid tests a day taken in mid-February - climbing to more than a million a day by the end of March.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Covid-19 strategic response director at Public Health England, said rapid testing might find cases that would not otherwise be discovered, helping to break chains of transmission and suppress the spread of variants or mutations of coronavirus.
Reuters
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "Around one in three people who have Covid-19 show no symptoms, and as we reopen society and resume parts of life we have missed, regular rapid testing is going to be fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks."
Shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said any expansion of the testing scheme must be backed by financial support so people could self-isolate, adding: "Lack of adequate sick pay and support remains a dangerous hole in our defences against this horrific virus."
'False positives' concern
The latest data shows that, of the 4.2 million lateral flow tests taken in schools and colleges in the week from 18 to 24 March, 4,502 returned a positive result.
Critics of the programme say that when rates are at low levels, it makes it hard to distinguish between actual infections and so-called "false positives" - an error where the test registers a positive result incorrectly.
"Mass testing is a scandalous waste of money," said Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University.
"When the prevalence rate of coronavirus falls as low as it is at the moment then an increasing proportion of cases are likely to be false positives meaning that cases and contacts will self isolate unnecessarily."
Prof Pollock said it is likely that mass testing "is going to do more harm than good. We still haven't seen an evaluation of mass testing programmes by the government and the UK national screening committee should be asked to advise."
The government requires secondary school children to take a second PCR or lab test if their first rapid lateral flow test comes back positive in school.
The government said that for every 1,000 lateral flow tests carried out, there was less than one false positive result, and the rapid tests were particularly useful at detecting high levels of virus.
In Northern Ireland, a spokesperson for the department of health said rapid testing was recently extended to private sector firms with more than 50 staff, and "consideration may be provided to other sectors".
The Scottish government said it was expanding rapid testing in hospitals, care homes, schools and in the community to spot asymptomatic cases in high prevalence areas, while also "considering the implications" of the announcement in England.
The Welsh government said 22% of the population already had access to regular rapid testing and this would continue to grow with the expansion of workplace and community testing programmes.
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It comes as Boris Johnson is due to meet the cabinet to sign off the next stage of lockdown easing in England, which will see non-essential shops reopen and pubs and restaurants start serving outdoors from 12 April.
Later, the prime minister will hold a Downing Street briefing, where he is expected to outline plans for coronavirus passports to enable mass-audience events to take place and confirm a traffic light system will be introduced when international leisure travel resumes.
Mr Johnson hailed the plan to offer everyone testing from 9 April, saying: "As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme and with our road map cautiously easing restrictions under way, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted."
The rapid tests are aimed at those without any Covid symptoms and can be taken at home.
The government introduced lateral flow testing for secondary school children and staff earlier this year, under plans to reopen classes in England by March.
In February, the scheme was extended to the families of all school and college-age children in England.
Kits were also offered to those who cannot work from home in the pandemic, so they can be tested twice a week.
From 9 April, kits will be available through:
Community testing sites operated by local authorities
Collection from a nearby PCR test site during specific time windows
Existing workplace testing programmes
An online home ordering service with kits then delivered through the post
Participating local pharmacies where a box of 7 tests can be collected to be used twice a week at home
Anyone who tests positive using a lateral flow test will be expected to self-isolate along with their household. They can then order a second PCR Covid test, typically used for symptomatic cases, which will be sent off to a laboratory for analysis.
If the confirmatory test comes back negative, their quarantine period is considered over immediately and they can resume normal life.
The schools testing programme, combined with the wider use of workplace testing, has led to a jump in the number of lateral flow tests carried out in England.
There were about 250,000 rapid tests a day taken in mid-February - climbing to more than a million a day by the end of March.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Covid-19 strategic response director at Public Health England, said rapid testing might find cases that would not otherwise be discovered, helping to break chains of transmission and suppress the spread of variants or mutations of coronavirus.
Reuters
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "Around one in three people who have Covid-19 show no symptoms, and as we reopen society and resume parts of life we have missed, regular rapid testing is going to be fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks."
Shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said any expansion of the testing scheme must be backed by financial support so people could self-isolate, adding: "Lack of adequate sick pay and support remains a dangerous hole in our defences against this horrific virus."
'False positives' concern
The latest data shows that, of the 4.2 million lateral flow tests taken in schools and colleges in the week from 18 to 24 March, 4,502 returned a positive result.
Critics of the programme say that when rates are at low levels, it makes it hard to distinguish between actual infections and so-called "false positives" - an error where the test registers a positive result incorrectly.
"Mass testing is a scandalous waste of money," said Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University.
"When the prevalence rate of coronavirus falls as low as it is at the moment then an increasing proportion of cases are likely to be false positives meaning that cases and contacts will self isolate unnecessarily."
Prof Pollock said it is likely that mass testing "is going to do more harm than good. We still haven't seen an evaluation of mass testing programmes by the government and the UK national screening committee should be asked to advise."
The government recently changed its policy in England, reintroducing the requirement for secondary school children to take a second PCR or lab test if their first rapid lateral flow test came back positive in school.
The change came after parents and scientists warned some pupils were self-isolating unnecessarily after just returning to the classroom.
The government said that for every 1,000 lateral flow tests carried out, there was less than one false positive result, and the rapid tests were particularly useful at detecting high levels of virus.
In Northern Ireland, a spokesperson for the department of health said rapid testing was recently extended to private sector firms with more than 50 staff, and "consideration may be provided to other sectors".
The Scottish government said it was expanding rapid testing in hospitals, care homes, schools and in the community to spot asymptomatic cases in high prevalence areas, while also "considering the implications" of the announcement in England.
The Welsh government said 22% of the population already had access to regular rapid testing and this would continue to grow with the expansion of workplace and community testing programmes.
Free, rapid twice-weekly COVID-19 testing for everyone in England is being promised by the government - starting this Friday.
It is aimed at people without symptoms, because one in three people with coronavirus don't have them and may be spreading the virus unwittingly.
The government says the offer is currently for England only and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will make their own decisions.
A major marketing campaign encouraging people to take up the offer of twice-weekly lateral flow tests will also start in England this Friday.
The prime minister says the tests will "stop outbreaks in their tracks", but Labour says they need to be backed up by financial support so sick people can isolate.
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The programme is effectively the long-delayed "Operation Moonshot" of 10 million COVID tests a day, costing an estimated £100bn, promised by Health Secretary Matt Hancock last summer.
When he claimed in the Commons it would start as early as December, MPs laughed, prompting Mr Hancock to brand them "nay-sayers" and saying they should "get with the programme".
More from Covid-19
Now the government says that alongside vaccination, regular COVID-19 testing will be an essential part of easing lockdown restrictions and help quickly suppress the spread of variants.
It comes after the UK recorded its lowest number of new positive cases since September on Easter Sunday, while deaths came in at 10 for the second day running.
The total number of first vaccinations has now reached 31,523,010, while second jabs have risen to 5,381,745.
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How is UK doing on the four tests for easing lockdown?
"Massive efforts have been made by the British public to stop the spread of the virus," said Boris Johnson ahead of Monday's Downing Street news conference on "vaccine passports" and "traffic lights" for international travel.
"As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme and with our roadmap to cautiously easing restrictions under way, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted.
"That's why we're now rolling out free rapid tests to everyone across England - helping us to stop outbreaks in their tracks, so we can get back to seeing the people we love and doing the things we enjoy."
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PM: 'We must proceed with caution'
But some medical experts are sceptical.
Sian Taylor-Phillips, professor of population health at the University of Warwick, told Sky News: "We don't know how well lateral flow tests work in terms of accuracy in people's homes.
"So when people are doing the test unsupervised we don't know if it will still be as effective. We know that swabbing technique is really important but we don't know how well people can do that in their own homes.
"The really critical thing we don't know is what effect is has on the transmission of coronavirus.
"The Liverpool pilot of this happened at the same time as lockdown (back in November), so the number of cases did go down. But we didn't have any comparison to a no-testing area, so we really don't know what contribution it makes or doesn't make."
Image:Mobile testing units will continue to operate managed by local authorities
So far, rapid testing has been available to those most at risk and people who need to leave home for work, including frontline NHS workers, care home staff and residents, and schoolchildren and their families.
Now rapid testing will be offered to everyone, with people encouraged to take regular tests to help prevent outbreaks and help the population reclaim a more normal way of life.
The government says over 100,000 businesses in England have already registered their interest to provide rapid tests to their employees.
The offer of free testing is now being expanded to companies with over 10 workers where on-site testing is impossible.
As a result, tests will be available through:
• A home ordering service, which allows people to order lateral flow tests online to be delivered to their home
• Workplace testing programmes, on-site or at home
• Community testing, offered by all local authorities
• Collection at a local PCR test sites during specific test collection time windows
• Testing on-site at schools and colleges
A new "Pharmacy Collect" service will be another option.
People over 18 without symptoms will be able to visit a participating local pharmacy and collect a box of seven rapid tests to use twice a week at home.
Announcing the programme, Mr Hancock said: "Around one in three people who have COVID-19 show no symptoms, and as we reopen society and resume parts of life we have all dearly missed, regular rapid testing is going to be fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks.
"The vaccine programme has been a shot in the arm for the whole country, but reclaiming our lost freedoms and getting back to normal hinges on us all getting tested regularly.
"The British public have shown over the last year that they quickly adapt and always do what it is right in the interest of public health, and I know they will do their bit by getting tested regularly in the months ahead."
And Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said: "Rapid testing helps us find COVID-19 cases that we wouldn't otherwise know about, helping to break chains of transmission.
"These tests are effective in detecting people that are infectious and therefore most likely to transmit infection to others. They are another tool we now have to help maintain lower infection rates.
"I encourage everyone to take up the offer of these free rapid tests - they are quick and easy to carry out in your own home."
Image:Matt Hancock says regular testing will be 'fundamental' to easing lockdown safely. Pic: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor
But Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "We've long called for mass testing for those with and without symptoms as a key element in tackling the spread of the virus.
"But to break transmission chains and suppress infections, testing must go hand-in-hand with community public health led contact tracing to find cases and must be backed up by decent financial support so sick people can isolate.
"People who are sick with COVID are still forced to choose between self-isolation or feeding their families.
"Lack of adequate sick pay and support remains a dangerous hole in our defences against this horrific virus."
Any "Covid passport" scheme to prove people in England are safe to attend mass-audience events would be "time-limited", the government said.
A "Covid status certification" scheme is being developed to enable concerts and sporting matches to take place.
It would record whether people had been vaccinated, recently tested negative or had natural immunity, having already had a bout of coronavirus.
The government is also trialling other ways of holding mass events safely.
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said the trials would be a "learning experience" and no decisions had been made about processes or vaccine certification.
Improved ventilation and testing before and after events are among the other approaches being tested for mass gatherings and indoor events, including sports matches and nightclubs.
Mr Huddleston said the PM would receive a report on all the trial events at the end of May.
The pilot events - which include the FA Cup final, the World Snooker Championship, cinema screenings and nightclub events - will take place up until mid-May.
The NHS is said to be working on a system to allow people to demonstrate their Covid vaccination status through an app or paper certificate.
For people who have not yet been vaccinated, it could record any recent negative tests, or whether they have tested positive in the last six months and are likely to have natural immunity.
The FA Cup final will require certification but some of the venues stressed they would not be involved in trialling the so-called Covid passports proposed by the government.
Paul Blair, co-owner of the Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool which is due to host the very first event, said his club faced the "worst negative press we've ever had" when it was wrongly reported certification would be used at his event.
He told the BBC that one person sent a message saying they hoped the owners would "catch Covid and die", while several messages seemingly organised by a conspiracy theorist group accused the club of practising "medical apartheid".
Instead of using Covid passports, his event will involve testing audience members before and after the show as part of a scientific experiment to ensure that it will be safe to reopen without social distancing after 21 June.
"The sole reason we are doing this is to help prove it's safe for live venues to open," he said, adding that it would apply to people regardless of their vaccine status.
Another series of events to be piloted in Liverpool will be three open-air cinema nights put on by Luna Cinema, with around 1,000 people expected each time.
George Wood, the cinema's founder, told the BBC they would aim to run the screenings "in a way that will be allowing people not to think about social distancing".
"For just those few hours when they come to the event, it'll be back to pre-Covid restriction levels, where people will be able to sit next to each other and enjoy a film on a big screen," he said.
He added that detail on how testing will work at the events will come out in the next few days.
More than 31.5 million people have received a first dose of a Covid vaccine and nearly 5.4m have received both jabs, but most people vaccinated so far are over 50.
The government said it was also working with clinical and ethical experts on exemptions for people for whom vaccination is not advised and repeat testing would be difficult.
Businesses in England which can reopen in the coming weeks, including pubs, restaurants and non-essential retail will not have to use the system for now.
However, sources say requiring a certificate to access hospitality further down the line - perhaps to reduce the need for social distancing - has not been ruled out.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government was doing everything it could to ensure people could return to events and travel "as safely as possible".
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, who is leading a review into the use of Covid passports, has called certification for international travel an "inevitability".
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who now sits as an independent, and senior Tory Iain Duncan Smith are among a broad coalition of MPs who have pledged their opposition.
While the proposed plans cover England only, the government is discussing the scheme with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The plans come as the UK reported another 2,297 cases and 10 deaths - although Wales and Northern Ireland did not report data for that 24-hour period.
On Monday, the prime minister is expected to outline plans for easing restrictions on international travel, involving a "traffic light" system for rating the virus risk of international destinations.
But the government said the traffic-light system would "help ensure the UK's vaccine progress isn't jeopardised and provide clear guidance" when travel resumes.
People coming back from countries in the green category will not have to self-isolate on their return, although pre-departure and post-arrival tests will still be required.
For countries assigned red and amber, restrictions would remain as they are now, with arrivals required to enter quarantine or self-isolation.
The list of countries included in each category will only be announced nearer the launch date, and the government continues to advise people not to book summer holidays abroad.
Industry body Airlines UK, which has been calling for a similar system, said travel could take place "proportionately and in a risk-based way" without "opening up the border to every country out there".
Chief executive Tim Alderslade said: "There are tens of thousands of jobs dependent upon aviation and restarting travel, and the sector cannot survive another lost summer with little or no revenue."
Also expected on Monday are details of a review into social distancing, which is examining when distancing requirements and the guidance to "work from home if possible" could be lifted.
