By Prime Minister to give ‘freedom’ update later today.
Officials said the Prime Minister is due to address the nation while Health Secretary Sajid Javid will take responsibility for announcing the Government’s plans to Parliament.
Mr Johnson will update the nation on the future of the one metre-plus rule in hospitality venues, the use of face coverings and work from home guidance, with multiple reports suggesting they will all be scrapped.
Alongside the press conference, the Government will publish the results of its reviews into the use of so-called vaccine passports and the future of social distancing guidance, Downing Street confirmed.
Reports also suggest Boris Johnson will update on travel and working from home guidance.
Officials said the Prime Minister will provide an update on care home visits, while also pushing those who have not done so to take up the offer of a vaccine, with 86% of people in the UK having received at least one dose so far.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson would reiterate that Covid will become a virus that we learn to live with ‘as we already do with flu’.
PA
Speaking before his announcement, the Prime Minister said people would have to ‘exercise judgment’ to protect themselves from coronavirus, in a sign the Government will shift from legally enforced restrictions to affording people personal choice.
‘Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our road map,’ Mr Johnson said. ‘Today we will set out how we can restore people’s freedoms when we reach Step 4.
‘But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks. As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid and exercise judgment when going about our lives.’
