'Freedom day': Johnson's roadmap for lifting of coronavirus restrictions 

Face masks, social distancing and home-working to be ditched

Addressing the nation today, the UK's prime minister promised to tear up England’s coronavirus regulations at the next stage of the road map, including scraping social distancing requirements and making mask-wearing voluntary.

Boris Johnson said the UK must “balance the risk” of disease from Covid-19 and the harm from continuing with legal restrictions which “take their toll on people’s lives and livelihoods, on people’s health and mental health”.

"We must be honest with ourselves," he said, "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...when will we be able to return to normal?"

Addressing the nation today, the UK's prime minister promised to tear up England’s coronavirus regulations at the next stage of the road map, including scraping social distancing requirements and making mask-wearing voluntary. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants contacts who are fully vaccinated to be exempt from self-isolation Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA

The UK's so-called “freedom day” is expected on July 19. The decision of whether or not to go ahead with the final easing of restrictions will be taken the week prior.  

Under Johnson's plan for the next phase of the UK's reopening:

• There will be no limits on social contact, meaning the end of the orders such as the “rule of six” and restrictions on guests at weddings and mourners at funerals.
• Legal requirement to wear face coverings will be lifted, although guidance will suggest people might choose to do so in “enclosed and crowded places”.
• All remaining businesses will be able to reopen, including nightclubs, while capacity caps will be lifted and bars and restaurants will no longer be restricted to table service.
• The Government will no longer instruct people to work from home.
• The “one metre plus” rule on social distancing will be lifted except in specific circumstances such as at the border, where guidance will remain to keep passengers from red and amber list countries from mingling with other travellers.
• The limit on named care home visitors will be lifted but infection control measures will remain in place.
• There will be no compulsory use of Covid status certification – so-called domestic vaccine passports – although firms will be able to voluntarily use the system.
• The gap between vaccine doses for under-40s will be reduced from 12 weeks to eight, meaning that all adults will have the opportunity to be double-jabbed by mid-September.

Although the legal requirement to self-isolate will remain for people who have tested positive or been identified as a contact by NHS Test and Trace, Mr Johnson wants contacts who are fully vaccinated to be exempt and the Government will set out further details in due course.

Later this week, transport secretary Grant Shapps will give an update on plans to remove the need for fully vaccinated arrivals from amber list countries to isolate, while education secretary Gavin Williamson will set out his plans for schools amid concern about the impact of the bubble system.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said the UK Government’s strategy “accepts infections will surge further and continue to rise steeply,” adding it also accepts hospital admissions will continue to rise until a possible peak later in the summer.