Festivals and full stadiums to return after July 19 as Boris Johnson lifts Covid restrictions on mass events

FESTIVALS and full stadiums will return after July 19 as Boris Johnson lifts restrictions on mass events.

Covid lockdown restrictions will be rolled back on 'Freedom Day' Boris Johnson confirmed tonight - as the vaccination programme continues to roll on.

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All stadium limits will be lifted in step 4 - the Prime Minister announced this evening.

Nightclubs and gig venues will reopen on July 19 - and there'll be no need for Covid tests or proof of jabs.

Social distancing will be scrapped, meaning drinkers will once again be able to get served at a bar.

And festivals can go ahead after Freedom Day, Boris Johnson confirmed during the press conference tonight.

He said thanks to the hugely successful rollout of the vaccines, it meant Britain could unlock further, rather than look back again to even more lockdown measures.

He said tonight: "As we come to the fourth step, we have to balance the risks.

"We must take a careful and balanced decision."

In a showering of freedoms on July 19, the PM confirmed tonight:

• Hefty fines for refusing to wear a mask indoors will be dropped - but coverings will still be recommended for crowded spaces
• All legal limits restricting social contact will be torn up, such as the rule of six or rule of 30 outside
• Work from home guidance will be dropped in favour of firms' discretion
• Pub rules will be binned - with table service scrapped and social distancing ending
• Strict caps on care home visitors will be ditched - but PPE will stay
• Under 40s will get their second jab after eight weeks, down from 12
• The one metre plus social distancing rule will be binned - except for ports and for people who have Covid
• It means festivals and full stadiums will finally be able to make a return after lifting all limits on mass events
• Covid certificates will be binned - but individual places can still demand them if they want
• Ministers will announce school bubble rules and holiday quarantine updates later this week

A final decision on whether to press ahead with lockdown lifting in two weeks will be made on July 12, but the PM said he expects to go ahead with it as planned.

He is confident Britain's well-oiled vaccine rollout will allow ministers to swap tough laws with the public's "individual judgement".

Today he unveiled his post-lockdown blueprint to give anxious businesses time to prepare for the grand reopening later this month.

But he warned that "the pandemic is far from over" and "we must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid".

Up to 50,000 cases a day may become reality in the weeks ahead as the virus continues to spread through those who have not had both jabs.

The most eye-catching announcement was giving the green light for train passengers and shoppers to bin their masks without fear of fines.

Downing Street said guidance would still urge people to don face coverings for crowded spaces like crammed carriages.

But the major easing was attacked by both Tory MPs branding it a "cop out" halfway house - and Labour big beasts warning it would frighten vulnerable people from going on public transport.

This comes as Covid cases have more than doubled in just two weeks as 27,334 infections were recorded today.

Despite the surging numbers, just nine coronavirus deaths were reported in the last 24 hours - as Brits prepare for unlocking on July 19.

Today's daily death figure brings the grim toll in Britain to 128,231.

And with the additional 27,334 cases reported today, the number of people infected since the pandemic began now stands at 4,930,534.

Last Monday, 22,868 new cases were reported, along with three additional Covid deaths.

And on June 21, there were 10,467 infections recorded in the UK - meaning cases have risen by a staggering 161 per cent a fortnight.

But while numbers are increasing, the correlation between infections and deaths remain relatively low.