UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the majority of the remaining lockdown restrictions in place to tackle the coronavirus pandemic will be lifted on July 19.
UK PM Boris Johnson. Credit: Ilyas Tayfun Salci / Shutterstock
UK PM Johnson has vowed to end the UK's lockdown restriction on July 19. Credit: Ilyas Tayfun Salci / Shutterstock
Wearing face masks, standing one metre apart, and mandatory working from home will be ended to test the efficacy of the UK's vaccine response against the new Delta variant of coronavirus.
The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged UK industry and reopening the country could stand to allow for some level of economic stimulation.
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Coronavirus cases continue to spike, with over 25,000 new cases being reported daily. Johnson has warned the easing of lockdown restrictions could cause the number of active cases to double to over 50,000 per day.
According to official government statistics, as many as 81% of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine. 64% are fully inoculated against the disease.
The government believe the UK's strong vaccine response could prevent strain on hospitals as cases spike.
Under the new terms, nightclubs will be permitted to reopen, the "rule of six" - where only six people can gather at a time - table service at pubs and restaurants and capacity limits in theatres will be lifted.
Johnson told a press conference: "We must be honest with ourselves that if we can't reopen our society in the next few weeks, when we will be helped by the arrival of summer and by the school holidays, then we must ask ourselves when will we be able to return to normal?"
Lockdown has been met with scepticism by a number of MPs and members of the public, and Johnson has said it is time to allow for personal responsibility to dictate the virus response.
This marks stage four of the government's scheme to get out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are still set to remain in charge of how they chose to deal with the pandemic, and the lifts in England may not necessarily affect the other countries in the UK.
There are rumours that Scotland is set to continue with light measures, such as wearing masks, which will be revealed in its next review in August.
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