Most Covid restrictions set to end in England, says Johnson

Face masks will no longer be legally required and distancing rules will be scrapped at the final stage of England's Covid lockdown roadmap, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed.

The rule of six inside private homes will be removed and work-from-home guidance abolished as 16 months of on-off restrictions on daily life end, reports the BBC.

The UK PM said he expected the final step would happen as planned on 19 July.

Further updates on school bubbles, travel and self-isolation will follow. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are in charge of their own coronavirus rules.

The Scottish government has said it may continue to require masks in certain settings even after 9 August, when it is hoped the final curbs will end.

Ahead of a review on 15 July in Wales, ministers said people would need to learn to live with Covid. Rules in Northern Ireland have just eased, with another review due on 8 July.

Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Johnson said the ability to end a vast majority of legal restrictions in England was thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout.

But he warned cases were predicted to rise to 50,000 a day later this month and said "we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid".

The final stage of England's roadmap, step four, was delayed last month to no earlier than 19 July amid surging virus cases linked to the Delta variant.

Johnson said step four should proceed on that date, subject to a review of the latest data on 12 July.

Announcing what the next stage of the pandemic will look like in England, he confirmed:

It means nightclubs will reopen for the first time since the pandemic began, while ordering at the bar will return in a boost to the hospitality industry.

Social distancing requirements, including the 1m-plus rule, have prevented many venues from operating at full capacity during the pandemic.

Face coverings are currently required, for those without an exemption, on public transport and in shops as part of regulations backed by law.

Johnson also said the gap between first and second vaccine jabs for the under-40s will be shortened from 12 weeks to eight.

Further announcements on schools, travel and self-isolation are expected this week.

A further 27,334 cases were reported across the UK on Monday, alongside another nine deaths within 28 days of a positive test.