The latest:
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that his government plans to scrap laws requiring face masks and physical distancing later this month, though he acknowledged that lifting the restrictions will drive surging coronavirus cases even higher.
Johnson said legal controls will be replaced by individual “informed decisions” when the country moves to the final stage of its lockdown-lifting roadmap. That is scheduled to happen on July 19, though Johnson said a final decision would come on July 12.
The change will mean people can throw away masks after months of enforced face-covering, though businesses and transit operators may still require them, and they will still be recommended in some enclosed spaces.
The removal of physical distancing rules will allow nightclubs to reopen after 16 months of enforced shutdown, and patrons to once again order drinks at the bar in a pub. No longer will customers have to scan a phone app to provide their contact details when entering a restaurant or bar.
The government will also stop instructing people to work from home if they can, leaving employers free to bring staff back to offices.
The changes apply in England. Other parts of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — are following their own, broadly similar, road maps out of lockdown.
Britain has recorded more than 128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Western Europe, and confirmed infections are rising due to the highly transmissible delta variant.
Confirmed cases have shot up from about 2,000 a day earlier this year to 25,000 a day in the past week. But the number of deaths is broadly stable, at fewer than 20 a day.
Public health officials say Britain’s vaccination program has weakened the link between infections and deaths, though not severed it. So far, 86 per cent of U.K. adults have received at least one vaccine dose and 64 per cent are fully vaccinated. The government aims to give everyone over 18 both shots by mid-September.
Johnson acknowledged that infections, hospitalizations and deaths will all rise once the remaining restrictions are lifted.
“I want to stress from the outset that this pandemic is far from over,” he said, predicting that cases could hit 50,000 a day by July 19. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from COVID.”
Johnson said Britain would have to “learn to live with this virus” — a major shift in tone from a leader who has previously painted COVID-19 as an enemy to be vanquished.
– From The Associated Press and CBC News, last updated at 1:45 p.m. ET
What’s happening across Canada
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/276/231/INTV_CHAKRABARTI_LOCKDOWN.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
As the number of Canadians vaccinated against COVID-19 continues to rise, the virus will eventually be treated like other respiratory viruses such as influenza, says infectious diseases physician Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti. 5:24
As of 2 p.m. ET on Monday, Canada had reported 1,417,395 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 5,992 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 26,363. More than 39.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country.
In the Atlantic provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, 12 of which were crew members aboard a ship anchored in Conception Bay.
Health officials in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reported one new case of COVID-19 on Monday. Health officials in Prince Edward Island had not yet provided any new information.
In Quebec on Monday, health officials reported one additional death and 176 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday.
Ontario on Monday reported one additional death and 170 new cases of COVID-19. The update came just hours after the province opened up eligibility to all 12- to 17-year-olds for an accelerated second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Across the North on Monday, Nunavut reported no new cases of COVID-19. Health officials in the Northwest Territories and Yukon, which has been dealing with growing case numbers, had not yet provided updated details for the day.
In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported one additional death and 65 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
LISTEN | Clinical psychologist on grappling with post-pandemic anxiety:
The Current19:42Grappling with post-pandemic anxiety
After more than a year of masking, physical distancing and lockdowns, provinces are finally easing COVID-19 restrictions. But for some Canadians, the return to normal is causing more stress than celebration. Guest host Mark Kelley speaks with Steven Taylor, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of British Columbia, about post-pandemic anxiety, and the lessons we can take from our time in lockdown. 19:42
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, reported 27 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
Health officials in Alberta and British Columbia are expected to provide updated figures covering the weekend later Monday.
– From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 2 p.m. ET
What’s happening around the world
As of early Monday morning, more than 183.7 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus database, which collects information from around the world. The reported global death toll stood at more than 3.9 million.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritize medical needs amid growing demand from COVID-19 patients, the government said on Sunday, following more than 60 deaths in a hospital where supply was almost exhausted.
Australia’s New South Wales said on Monday the next two days would be “absolutely critical” in deciding whether a two-week anti-coronavirus lockdown in Sydney, set to end on July 9, will have to be extended amid rising delta variant cases.
In Europe, some regions in Spain are reinstating nightlife restrictions only weeks after dropping them, part of an attempt to stem a spiraling number of coronavirus infections among unvaccinated young people.
Fearing that the surging virus could strain health-care services, health officials in several parts of the country are also hurrying to vaccinate people under 30. Spain’s strict vaccination rollout has so far focused on older, more vulnerable groups.
On Friday, the 14-day contagion rate among those ages 20 to 29 was nearly three times the national average.
Health Minister Olivier Veran on Sunday urged as many French people as possible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, warning that France could be heading for a fourth wave of the pandemic by the end of the month due to the highly transmissible delta variant.
In Africa, South Africa’s resurgence of COVID-19 is setting record numbers of new daily cases, centred in Johannesburg and driven by the delta variant that was first found in India. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, more than 26,000 new cases were reported on Saturday, up from 24,000 the previous day, surpassing the highest number of new cases in previous waves. South Africa’s official death toll has gone above 63,000,
In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, the fifth vaccine to receive such approval by the Gulf Arab state, the health ministry said in a statement to state news agency WAM on Sunday.
In the Americas, U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated the nation’s 245th birthday on Sunday by opening the gates of the White House and calling on Americans to do their part to end the COVID-19 pandemic once and for all.
“This year, the Fourth of July is a day of special celebration for we are emerging from the darkness of … a year of pandemic and isolation, a year of pain, fear and heartbreaking loss,” Biden told a White House party opened to around 1,000 people, including military families and workers involved in the COVID-19 response. “We never again want to be where we were a year ago today.”
– From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 11:05 a.m. ET
