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Social distancing has been a feature of life since the start of the pandemic.

But the rules are changing across the UK.

In England, almost all legal restrictions have been lifted, which means an end to the "rule of six" - including how many friends you can have at your home, or meet at a pub.

It also means an end to capacity limits at events.

In Scotland, eight people from four households can meet in private homes, 10 people from four households in indoor public places, and 15 people from 15 households outdoors.

In Wales, an extended household, or up to six people from different households, can meet indoors in private homes, hospitality settings and holiday accommodation.

There is no limit to the number who can meet outdoors, external.

And in Northern Ireland, before the 27 July rule easing takes place, six people from two households, external can meet in private homes (under-13s not counted), or 15 from 10 households in a garden.

Six people (or 10 from a single household) can meet at pubs and restaurants indoors and outdoors (under-13s not counted).

You can read a more detailed guide to the social distancing rules where you live here.

Image source, PA Media

Controversial British commentator Katie Hopkins will be deported from Australia for bragging about flouting hotel quarantine rules, says the government.

Hopkins - who has often drawn anger for her remarks - had entered the country to star in TV show Big Brother Australia.

On Friday she posted a video from her Sydney hotel room in which she said she planned to "lie in wait" for workers to deliver food to her room so she could open the door "naked with no face mask".

She also called lockdowns the "greatest hoax in human history". Australia's two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, are both in lockdown.

On Monday, the Australian government confirmed her visa had been cancelled, after she was also sacked from the reality show.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews called Ms Hopkins' comments "appalling" and a "slap in the face" for Australians in lockdown. We've got more on this story here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

The lifting of Covid restrictions in England means people no longer need to work from home, but that doesn't mean offices will be packed with staff returning to the workplace today.

In Manchester city centre's Hardman Square, a bit of a hub for financial services firms, all is quiet this morning.

Adam Waller, senior partner at accountacy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), tells Radio 5 Live: "It's quiet, but we've seen a steady flow of people coming back to the office. Some people really enjoy having that space.

"Obviously we can work flexibly, so the majority of staff are still working from home and we expect that to continue into the autumn."

Usman Khan joined a new team at the firm in June and hasn't met any of his colleagues face-to-face yet.

"I definitely feel excited about more people coming into the office," he says. "I've met most of them over video call, but I'm looking forward to meeting them face-to-face in the office in the coming days and weeks."

Sarah Leonide, in the audit team, says the office has been getting busier over the past couple of weeks - and she's hoping to see more people returning today.

"It's quiet now, but the weather's great, so that typically tends to bring people out."

And it's not just the work from home guidance that has changed in offices today - there are also new rules for face coverings in work places.

You can read more about those changes, and what's expected of you, here.

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As we reported earlier, pub chain Greene King has been forced to close 33 pubs in the past week due to staff shortages caused by people having to self-isolate by the NHS Covid app.

Boss Nick Mackenzie told the BBC: "I think this is a problem... It could get worse."

Recent figures showed more than 500,000 people in England and Wales were "pinged" by the app in the week to 7 July, up 46% on the previous week.

At the weekend, Marks & Spencer said, external it may have to reduce store opening hours if the rate of workers self-isolating continues to rise.

A leading supermarket, which declined to be named, told the BBC "there's a risk that there won't be sufficient staff to open shops".

Business lobby group the CBI has warned that "crippling staff shortages" risks hampering an economic recovery.

It has called for an immediate end to the 10-day self-isolation period for people who have been fully vaccinated. It also said daily lateral flow tests could help people who have not received both jabs get back to work. We've got more on this story here.

Image source, Reuters

One of the biggest sponsors of the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese carmaker Toyota, says its company executives will not attend the opening ceremony on Friday due to rising coronavirus cases.

Toyota said it would be wrong, given that the public had been barred from the event.

The carmaker, which is reported to have spent nearly a billion dollars on its sponsorship deal, also said it would not run any Olympic-related adverts on Japanese TV.

Organisers of the Olympic Games today announced six new cases connected to the event, including media, contractors and other personnel.

It brings the total number of positive cases to 61, with 28 among the 22,000 accredited people who have arrived from abroad.

A number of Olympic athletes and officials have either been infected with coronavirus or are in quarantine.

Reported cases of Covid-19 have more than doubled in Japan in less than a month, with recent polls showing that most people in the country do not want the Games to take place.

Read more from BBC Sport here.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

I spoke to clubbers queueing outside Pryzm in Nottingham last night as the venue prepared to reopen as a nightclub for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

It opened its doors at 00:01 - just after the majority of remaining Covid restrictions were eased.

Nathan Harper and Emily Johnson, from Eastwood, were among those getting ready to go inside.

They both turned 18 in the last year but haven't been able to make the most of their adulthood.

Nathan said he was "excited" to finally be able to go out dancing.

"As soon as I turned 18, I just really wanted to go out clubbing, experience everything but now I finally can," he said.

Pryzm has been open during the pandemic but customers had to remain at their tables and were not allowed to dance.

Emily described the relaxing of the dancing rule as a "god send".

Despite their excitement, the pair did still plan to take precautions while clubbing.

Emily said: "We're a bit nervous about it... we're still going to keep our distance but what happens happens really."

Jayne McCubbin
Reporter, BBC Breakfast

Mark Dawson is travelling to Scunthorpe for work this morning, he’s glad of the chance to take the mask off.

He says: “I was bored of them after two days. I’ll do what the government tells me to do but if they say I don’t have to, I won’t.”

As we chat another man approaches and asks what the rules are.

He says he's confused: ”I just wish there was one clear message to either do it or don’t do it.”

He has five children at home and although he’s double jabbed he’s worried for them, he says.

If you're confused over the rules on face coverings here's our explainer.

Big changes to Covid restrictions and guidance have been made in England and Scotland today.

Changes took place in Wales on 17 July, with Northern Ireland set to ease rules on 26 July.

If you're now unsure about what you can and can't do where you live, the BBC explainers team has compiled this handy guide for the new rules where you live.

With nightclubs in England reopening for the first time in 16 months, BBC Newsbeat headed down to one venue in Leeds to speak to some of the first people through the doors.

Mollie, who's 20, says of her night at Fibre: “It’s been literally the best night of our lives.

"We’ve been waiting for this since we turned 18.

"This has been like life has come back to normal all of a sudden. It’s been absolutely fantastic.”

Leah, 20 adds: "At first we were a bit nervous we weren’t sure how it was going to be, how to feel but to be honest, as soon as the confetti cannons went off, the countdown was on.

"The music started, there were no nerves, everything was back to normal, honestly it was just amazing."

Mark, an estate agent, says he's "very, very excited".

"It’s our release, we go dancing and that’s been taken away from us for 18 months.

"I’m double jabbed. I’ve had Covid already. I want my life back.”

Image source, Getty Images

Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the "right decision" to U-turn and to self-isolate rather than enter a pilot testing scheme after being alerted by NHS Test and Trace, the vaccines minister says.

No 10 initially said on Sunday they would not have to isolate, as they were taking part in a pilot scheme that involves daily testing instead.

But that caused widespread condemnation and opposition parties said it suggested there was "one rule for them and another for the rest of us".

The PM later said they had "briefly" considered taking part in the scheme.

Nadhim Zahawi tells BBC Breakfast: "Let me try and share with you a bit of the background.

"The pilot to - instead of self-isolating - take a daily lateral flow test has been running since December and the Cabinet Office and No 10 had subscribed to it, as had other organisations, such as TfL for example.

"That was considered but actually the prime minister, rightly, weighing up that many businesses, many hundreds of thousands of people are self-isolating because they have been in contact with someone who had tested positive - as he had because of the Health Secretary (Sajid Javid), and as had the Chancellor (Rishi Sunak) - took the right decision that the right message to send to the country was that they should also self-isolate and follow the rules, and that's exactly what they are doing."

We've got more on this story here.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says it is the "right thing to do" to lift most coronavirus restrictions in England in a "cautious move to bringing normality back to our lives".

He tells BBC Breakfast: "As Chris Whitty has said, there is no perfect time.

"But when schools are on summer holidays, that brings downward pressure on the R-number, and the high levels of vaccination - almost 88% of all adults now with one dose - is the right time to cautiously proceed.

Asked if today's end to legal restrictions in England felt irreversible he says "very much so".

He says: "It's right to be careful but it's also right to get our country back together, opening up and as close to normality as possible."

On face masks, he says: "It is right that we now move from government by diktat.

"Because we're wanting to get our lives back, get back to normality and get people to take personal responsibility, yes, but also corporate responsibility, and people should respect that.

"If you want to go into a shop and the shop owner says you have to wear a mask, people should absolutely respect that.

"If you want to travel on public transport and your public transport system says you have to wear a mask, then you should wear a mask.

"By the way, you don't know if the person sitting next to you on that crowded carriage may be someone who is immuno-supressed or immuno-compromised - it is right that you take that responsibility and protect yourself and protect them as well."

Jayne McCubbin
Reporter, BBC Breakfast

It is starting to get busy at Piccadilly Station in Manchester.

The concourse signs say "wear a mask". Station staff are all wearing a mask, even on the approach outdoors, but inside, it is a mixed bag.

An awful lot of people are exercising their new, legal right not to mask-up. Most I speak to say they haven’t for a long time. But Brian says he’ll just use his common sense now.

He says: “It’s ready to put on in a crowded carriage but if there’s three of us inside then I won’t bother. I’m double jabbed. I’ll be sensible to look after other people.”

Those who adamantly won’t are firm believers masks don’t work. Like Hudain.

Many I’ve spoken to say they will ‘read the room’ - or the train carriage - from now on. They’ll take their lead from other people.

Andy Burnham doesn’t have the power to follow London Mayor Sadiq Khan's lead and enforce mask-wearing across all public transport, but he’s encouraged people to wear masks “as an act of solidarity”.

Image source, Getty Images

As legal coronavirus restrictions end in England, the whole of Scotland has moved to the lowest level of Covid regulations.

Until now, only some islands had been in level zero but the rest of the country was in level one or level two.

The move to level zero means more people will be allowed to meet indoors and attend weddings and funerals.

However, some limits on outdoor meetings are to be maintained, and the mandatory use of face coverings is to remain in place for "some time".

Under the level zero rules, up to eight adults from four households can meet indoors at home, and up to 10 can meet in a pub or restaurant - with no need to pre-book a two-hour slot.

Restrictions are set to be relaxed in Wales on 7 August and in Northern Ireland on 26 July.

Image source, Greene King

The chief executive of pub chain Greene King says he has had to close 33 pubs in the last seven days due to staff self-isolating.

Nick Mackenzie says: “Across the industry we think one in five of our team members have been affected by this.”

“We need some clarity from government on how the app works... We need them to move to a test and release scheme to get us back to normal again.”

Alerts are sent through the NHS Covid app to tell individuals they have been in close contact with a positive coronavirus case. Anyone alerted has to self-isolate for 10 days.

Puregym chief exec Humphrey Cobbald says: "We’ve been talking for a while internally about living in the United Pingdom and it’s become a huge challenge for individuals and businesses.”

“Up to 25%, in some areas, of our staff have been asked to self-isolate. Through flexibility and sharing of labour across sites, we’ve been able to keep sites open so far but it’s been a very close call in certain circumstances.”

“I think there’s a different way of reacting to the pings for vaccinated people and using lateral flow tests that would help industries of all sorts a great deal and keep the economy functioning.”

More than half a million isolation alerts were sent to people using the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales during the first week of July.

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi tells BBC Breakfast he has received the recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation about whether to recommend vaccines for under-18s.

He will make a statement to Parliament later, but he says the committee has recommended that children with medical conditions that make them vulnerable to Covid-19 should be vaccinated, along with those who live with clinically vulnerable people.

And he also says they recommend that children close to their 18th birthday should have the vaccine.

But Zahawi says that they are keeping under review whether or not to vaccinate healthy children aged 12 to 17.

He says they are concerned about some data suggesting there may be rare cases of myocarditis - an inflammation of the heart muscle - linked to the vaccine.

Two South Africa footballers have become the first competitors to test positive for coronavirus in the athletes' village in Tokyo - five days before the start of the Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, six athletes and two staff members from Team GB's athletics team are self-isolating after being identified as close contacts of an individual who tested positive after their arrival into Tokyo on 16 July.

Read more from BBC Sport here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

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Most Covid rules have been eased in England, but many public transport operators, including Transport for London, still want passengers to wear masks.

Graham Vidler, CEO of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents over 1,000 bus and coach operators in the UK, tells the BBC the organisation is worried about customer confusion around face coverings and staying safe on-board today.

"I think the vital thing for drivers across England is that we don't ask them to step into the government's shoes and try and make the rules themselves and enforce them," he told 5 Live's Wake Up to Money.

"What we'll be doing is encouraging our passengers to continue to wear a face covering where they can. We won't be asking drivers to enforce that because that puts them in an impossible situation, having to referee those potential conflicts on-board.

"Even one incident is too many."

Image source, Getty Images

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth says he backs a decision to allow NHS staff to avoid self-isolation because hospitals are coming under "huge pressure" from rising Covid admissions.

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The NHS is essentially in a summer crisis, the pressures are intense and growing."

But he says the wholesale relaxation of restrictions is "reckless".and should have been done more gradually.

The face mask requirement should have been retained, and people should continue to work from home where they can, he says.

"This is throwing all caution to the wind," Ashworth says.

"We’re likely to have a day of chaos on the transport network today - one of the busiest days on the transport networks for 16 months.

"The last thing we want on a day like this is chaos and for the public health measures to be undermined."

Image source, PA Media

Some fully vaccinated frontline NHS staff in England will be allowed to carry on working if exposed to someone with Covid, the government has said, amid concerns over employee shortages.

Staff, including those in social care, will be exempted from isolating in "exceptional circumstances", when absences could lead to a "significant risk of harm".

They will need to show a negative PCR test and take daily lateral flow tests.

It comes amid a surge in cases and a rise in people told to self-isolate.

More than 500,000 alerts telling people to quarantine were sent by the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales in the first week of July, with supermarkets among the latest businesses to say they may have to cut opening hours or shut shops due to a lack of staff.

Those "pinged" by the app are advised to self-isolate for 10 days, but those contacted by NHS Test and Trace in England via text, email or phone can be fined if they do not self-isolate.

We've got more on this story here.

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The prime minister has urged caution as most legal restrictions on social contact are lifted in England.

In a video posted on Twitter on Sunday afternoon, , externalBoris Johnson said now was the "right moment" to move to the final stage of England's roadmap out of lockdown.

"If we don't do it now we've got to ask ourselves, when will we ever do it?" he asked, adding that the virus would have the "advantage of the cold weather" in autumn and winter.

"But we've got to do it cautiously. We've got to remember that this virus is sadly still out there. Cases are rising, we can see the extreme contagiousness of the Delta variant."

Here's more on that story.