Boris Johnson announcement – Watch LIVE as PM announces July 19 will see covid mask rules & work from home scrapped

BORIS Johnson will make a major covid rules announcement shortly, outlining the ways in which the UK can get its freedom back.

The Prime Minister is expected to say that from July 19, covid face mask rules will be scrapped, with the UK switching to a voluntary system as we learn to live with covid as a simple fact of life.

However local councils and public transport providers may still insist upon masks being worn with the threat of fines for anybody who doesn’t.

Pubs are also likely to be normal with social distancing measures and enforced table service ditched, although individual pubs may well choose to keep their capacity smaller and stick with apps and table service for orders.

And the Government’s order to work from home where you can will also be axed – but again, many offices are predicted to opt for flexible working in the future after proving popular and successful during lockdown.

The PM will address the nation at 5pm today – and you can watch live and follow all the action here, live on this page.

The July 19 rule changes which come as covid infection rates soar in the UK but, crucially, hospitalisations remain low thanks to our brilliant vaccines rollout which has broken the link between infections and deaths

Read our live blog below for the latest lockdown updates…