FAMILIES will be able to meet next month, schools will return within weeks and care home visits will be allowed, under plans to ease the coronavirus lockdown.

According to reports, the Prime Minister is set to reveal his plans on Monday.

Two different households will be allowed to meet by Easter according to the Daily Telegraph.

This means families will be able to gather in gardens and parks.

Schools are expected to retun on March 8, according to the newspaper.

Care home residents will be allowed one visitor, who will be allowed to hold their hands.

Hairdressers and non-essential shops in England could start opening towards the end of March according to the report. 

Social distancing is expected to stay in place "for months", however. 

Families living apart in the same area will be able to gather outdoors by Easter - however those living further away from each other may have to wait a while longer according to the report. 

Boris Johnson is expected to outline his plans to Parliament on Monday before addressing the nation later in the day.

The measures will be announced as part of the PM's roadmap for how the nationwide lockdown will start to be lifted.

A senior Whitehall source told the Daily Telegraph: "What the public is longing for more than anything is seeing family members and loved ones. It's been a very long time and a difficult year."

The newspaper reports that Number 10 is concerned about the impact lockdown has had on families kept apart from each other.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the number of people infected with Covid had dropped by 30 per cent in a week and the virus 'R' rate had fallen again.

All schools in England are expected to be allowed to open on March 8.

But this does not guarantee that all pupils will go back that day as some schools may choose to stagger class returns.

The lifting of restrictions will be "cautious" in the hope that it can be "irreversible", according to the report.

But dates could be delayed if Covid surges again, it is understood.