British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that maximum covid restrictions are set to end on July 19 as part of the final step of England's roadmap out of the lockdown. Face masks and social distancing rules will no longer be legally mandatory in England from July 19, Johnson said in a news conference. Johnson previously had announced a four-week delay to the final step of England's roadmap out of Covid-19 restrictions until July 19, amid a surge in cases of the Delta variant first identified in India.

The rule of six inside private homes will also be removed and work-from-home guidance will be scrapped, said the Prime Minister. The British government is only responsible for Covid restrictions in England. The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for their own policies in relation to public health matters, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Britain reported another 27,334 Covid cases in the 24-hour period, bringing the total number of Covid cases in the country to 4,930,534, according to official figures released on Monday. The country also recorded another nine covid-related deaths. The total number of Covid-related deaths in Britain now stands at 128,231. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test. More than 45.3 million people in Britain have received the first jab of Covid-19 vaccine and over 33.7 million people have received two doses, the official figures showed.

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