Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a very limited easing of Britain's coronavirus lockdown next week, adopting a cautious approach to ensure there is no second peak of infections, his spokesman said on Thursday.

Johnson is due to announce the next steps in Britain's battle to tackle the novel coronavirus on Sunday following a review by ministers of the current measures that have all but shut the economy and kept millions at home.

At a cabinet meeting of his top ministers, Johnson said Britain would advance "with maximum caution" and be guided by the science and data when considering whether any of the strict social distancing measures could be eased.

"Any easement to the guidelines next week will be very limited," the spokesman told reporters.

"We are at a critical moment in the fight against the virus and we will not do anything which risks throwing away the efforts and sacrifices of the British public."

Ministers are concerned that any swift easing of a lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus could lead to a second peak in infection rates, which might overwhelm hospitals and force the government to shut down the economy for a second time.

Earlier, the Bank of England held off from further stimulus measures on Thursday but said it was ready to take more action to counter the country's biggest economic slump in over 300 years, caused by the coronavirus lockdown.