Councillor Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, has reinforced his view that England should be moving to step 4 of the roadmap and out of lockdown on 19 July.
Cllr Hill said: "I know the majority of people will join me in looking forward to 19 July with relief and optimism that our lives can start to return to normal.
"I agree with the prime minister that we need to move to a phase where we can manage covid in a sensible way that will mean we can start to restore our businesses, who have suffered so much during this pandemic.
"If we don’t take this summer window of opportunity to relax the current severe restrictions, we will probably have to endure them until next year.
"We must understand that infection rates will increase and the virus has not been eradicated. We should all continue to be careful as individuals to help prevent this disease spreading but we need to face the reality this cannot be at the on-going cost of livelihoods, mental health and education.
"Hospitalisations and deaths remain low in Lincolnshire. The vaccine roll-out continues at pace – so far over million vaccines have been given in the county - and I urge people to take up both doses to protect themselves and to reduce the transmission of the disease.
"Covid-19 will leave a legacy in all of our lives so lifting restrictions should ensure that the negative impacts start to come to an end. I hope though too that it can leave us with a reminder of the kindness people have shown to others, the support given to local businesses when they've needed it most and our resilience to get through these difficult times."