Progress in tackling the coronavirus pandemic meant Britain was able to take a “fresh look” at the two-metre rule, which many employers have said will make it harder to get back up to speed after the lockdown, Sunak said on Sunday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, which says it has always followed scientific advice in its handling of the pandemic, faces the difficult balancing act of reviving the economy without allowing a second wave of coronavirus cases.
Britain has the third highest number of coronavirus deaths after the United States and Brazil, something critics of the government say reflects its response to the crisis.
Reducing the distance people must keep apart from each other would mean three quarters of pubs could reopen, rather than about one third with a two-metre rule.
Sunak also said the government could make changes to a 14-day quarantine for people coming into the country, such as the introduction of travel corridors with specific countries.
Sunak said he wanted to encourage companies to hire workers and there needed to be more skills training, while higher levels of household savings represented a positive for the economy.