Boris Johnson to press ahead with 19 July ‘Big Bang’ freedom day

Boris Johnson will today announce an end to most coronavirus restrictions in England from 19 July, as the nation prepares to “live with coronavirus”.

The Prime Minister will set out how the vaccine programme has allowed the government to move away from legal restrictions on everyday life to a more voluntary approach.

New health secretary Sajid Javid has made clear in the past week that he believes it is time to press ahead with re-opening.

Some of the restrictions that the government will be banishing include: no fine for not wearing a mask on public transport, no social distancing and an end to government guidance to work from home.

The decision to work from home will be left up to the individual firms.

City A.M. revealed in an exclusive on Sunday that the rate at which occupiers are seeking to dispose of their office space is showing a steady decline, in a win for office culture.

Johnson will, however, stress caution. He will say that cases will continue to rise in the next few weeks and that “we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from coronavirus and exercise judgment when going about our lives.”

It is also believed that the government will publish guidance advising people to continue to wear masks in “crowded enclosed spaces.”

The moves reflect the shift from state intervention to personal responsibility.

Robert Jenrick yesterday told Times Radio that, “It will be a different phase because we’re going to move away from the state telling you what to do, with very restrictive rules and laws, to us all exercising our own good judgment and personal choice.”