Boris Johnson says opportunity to travel is "through double jab"

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to soon announce when all remaining Covid lockdown restrictions will be dropped. This will be the new dat expected to end “all legal limits on social contact”, meaning people will be allowed to meet in groups of any size, venues like nightclubs will be allowed to reopen and large events like music festivals can go ahead once more. This date also signals the day the Rule of Six will be dropped within indoor settings, and groups of up to 30 people will be allowed outside.

Pubs and restaurants will, however, remain serving customers on a table-service only basis.

Announcing the delay from Downing Street, Mr Johnsons said: “I’m sorry for all the disappointment caused by going a bit slower.”

He added the country needed to give the NHS “a few more crucial weeks to get those remaining jabs into the arms of those who need them”.

The delay comes as cases continue rising in the UK amid the spread of the Delta variant first identified in India, believed to be accountable for 99 percent of Covid cases in England, according to Public Health England (PHE).

When is Boris Johnson’s next announcement?

The Prime Minister’s next announcement will take place on Monday, June 28, and will be broadcast from Downing Street as usual.

His spokesperson confirmed Mr Johnson will be addressing the nation on Monday, but didn’t say what time he would appear.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “Monday will be the day when we were deciding on the decision on that and we are closely monitoring the data, ahead of providing full updates.

“Cabinet concluded with a discussion on our ongoing response to COVID-19.

“The Prime Minister reemphasises the Government’s determination to ensure the roadmap is irreversible and said he was constantly reviewing the data on cases, hospitalisations and deaths ahead of a decision on step four.”

While there was speculation Mr Johnson would bring forward the easing date to July 5, this is unlikely to happen right now.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson played down the hopes of an early reopening, citing that Delta variant cases are “sadly still going up”.

The spokesperson added: “It’s going up by about 30 percent a week in cases, hospitalisations are up by roughly the same amount and so, sadly, are ICU admissions into intensive care.”

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The Prime Minister said he is hopeful July 19 will see the end of restrictions in England.

He added: “You can never exclude that there will be some new disease, some new horror that we simply haven’t budgeted for or accounted for.

“But looking at where we are, at the efficacy of the vaccines against all variants that we can currently see, I think it’s looking good for July 19 to be that terminus point.”

They added: “Obviously there are big pressures on the NHS, which is all the more reason to reduce the number of Covid cases now, give the NHS the breathing space it needs to get on with dealing with all those other pressures.

“We are certainly going to be putting in the investment to make sure that they can.”

The last major announcement came on Monday, June 14 when Boris Johnson revealed that the final easing of restrictions will be delayed by four weeks, from June 21 to July 19.

You’ll be able to watch the announcement on BBC News, BBC One, and Sky News.

If you don’t catch it live, you can watch on demand on BBC iPlayer and via Sky’s YouTube channel.

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