Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department plans to use to define the end of the covid-19 outbreak in the UK.

Over time, scientists expect COVID-19 to become endemic, meaning the virus will reach a stable and, it is hoped, manageable level. Scientists do not yet know how or when that transition will occur, so the Government has not determined criteria for the end of the pandemic. The Government will continue to be guided by the best available scientific advice and the latest data when responding to the virus.