England set to lift COVID restrictions despite soaring cases

Boris Johnson confirms the government aims to end restrictive measures on July 19, despite rising COVID infections and concerns from scientists and opposition figures.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out plans to end social and economic COVID-19 restrictions in England in two weeks’ time, a test of whether a rapid vaccine rollout offers enough protection from the highly contagious Delta variant. Johnson confirmed the government aimed to end restrictive measures on July 19, with a final decision to be taken next week. He said the step would eliminate formal limits on social contact, the instruction to work from home and mandates to wear face masks. After imposing the most onerous constraints on behaviour in Britain’s peacetime history to battle the novel coronavirus, Johnson is betting the vaccination programme, which has weakened the link between infections and hospital admissions, can prevent the health service from being overwhelmed by a new wave of COVID-19.