Covid-19: Prime minister confirms end of England's Covid restrictions

Prime Minster Boris Johnson has confirmed that England's social distancing controls will come to an end on 19 July.

He told people that "now is the right moment to proceed" with plans to lift restrictions, but did warn that "obviously we must rule nothing out", when asked if rules could come back should the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

"I cannot say this powerfully or emphatically enough, this pandemic is not over," he told a news conference on Monday.

"To take these steps we must be cautious and [adults] must be vaccinated."

'Not back to normal'

There was a warning to people though: "We cannot simply revert instantly from Monday 19 July to life as it was before Covid."

The prime minister encouraged people to be responsible when the rules change, saying: "I expect and recommend people wear face masks in crowded spaces, such as public transport."

He also told people to make gradual changes to things like working from home; "we don't expect that the whole country will return to their desk as one from Monday," he explained.

The change was announced last week, but the government said they would wait until today to confirm the shift once the latest health data was available.

Scotland's government hope to announce a change to restrictions next week to, but will confirm their plans on 13 July. Wales's government has already announced changes, for example, there will be new mask rules for school from September. Northern Ireland has also agreed a plan to ease restrictions, with plans hopefully approved by 22 July.

People in England won't be expected to wear a mask at all times, from 19 July

What will change in England?

Earlier in the day the Health Secretary Sajid Javid had said the high level of vaccinations among adults meant the country could "withstand a summer wave," of cases, as hospital numbers were not rising as they had during other waves.

Mr Javid said: "There will never be a perfect time to take this step because we simply cannot eradicate this virus - whether we like it or not, coronavirus is not going away."

He explained that people needed to act with "caution and with personal responsibility".

You can read all about the government's plans announced last week here.

The main changes will be the end of the legal requirement to wear face masks and an end to the social distancing rules - people will be allowed within a metre of each other.

Lots of business can fully reopen, and people will be allowed to visit family members in care homes.

There was also good news for theatre and concert venues as they will be able to operate with no restrictions.