Boris Johnson has said he will broadly lift the work-from-home guidance and set out major relaxations of the lockdown to pave the way for theatres and sports stadiums to reopen.

The Prime Minister said on Friday that it will be up to employers to discuss with workers whether it is safe to return from August 1, as he detailed new measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Daily Echo:

From that date, he said, most remaining leisure centres will reopen and indoor performances with live audiences can resume, with trials beginning for sports stadiums “with a view to a wider reopening in the autumn”.

Mr Johnson also immediately scrapped the advice to avoid public transport in England and detailed plans to extinguish local outbreaks of coronavirus to avoid another national shutdown.

“It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November, at the earliest, possibly in time for Christmas,” he added.

But the relaxation of the strict rules will bring the nation into a new normal, with mask-wearing and social distancing remaining essential parts of life.