England is set to remove its remaining lockdown restrictions - including masks and social distancing - on July 19, according to a newspaper report.

       Covid rules would be replaced with "personal responsibility", with The Times reporting that "ministers have been encouraged by the 'very, very' low number of deaths from coronavirus and the slowdown in infections, which has boosted confidence that a sizeable summer wave can be avoided".

       The report states that the changes would also apply to the “rule of six” on indoor gatherings and working from home: "The government is expected to confirm on Monday that July 5 is too early to lift restrictions, despite the positive data, because ministers want to ensure that more people have received their second jabs."

       ？？Follow the latest updates below.

       Here is your Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, June 23.

       India on Tuesday declared a new coronavirus variant to be of concern, and said nearly two dozen cases had been detected in three states.

       The variant, identified as "delta plus", was found in 16 cases in the state of Maharashtra, Federal Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

       The ministry said delta plus showed increased transmissibility and advised states to increase testing.

       The UK government has told HMRC to show lenience in collecting unpaid taxes from companies ravaged by coronavirus-induced debt, in order to avoid a wave of insolvencies this summer.

       Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote to business groups this week promising that the taxman would take “a cautious approach to enforcement of debt owed to government that will have accrued” amid the pandemic.

       The decision to throw a lifeline to British companies comes as business groups warn of impending collapses as tailored emergency coronavirus support measures wind down from next month.

       Many will struggle to survive, having been reliant on government support as sales suffered due to enforced restrictions throughout the pandemic.

       Read the full story here.

       The Tokyo Olympics, already delayed by the pandemic, are not looking like much fun: Not for athletes. Not for fans. And not for the Japanese public.

       They are caught between concerns about the coronavirus at a time when few are vaccinated on one side and politicians who hope to save face by holding the games and the International Olympic Committee with billions of dollars on the line on the other.

       Japan is famous for running on consensus. But the decision to proceed with the Olympics - and this week to permit some fans, if only locals - has shredded it.

       "We have been cornered into a situation where we cannot even stop now. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not," Kaori Yamaguchi, a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee and a bronze medalist in judo in 1988, wrote in a recent editorial published by the Kyodo news agency.

       New Zealand has raised its Covid-19 alert level in the capital city of Wellington, after an Australian tourist tested positive following a weekend visit to the city.

       Alert Level 2 - one level short of a lockdown - will extend through to Sunday.

       The measure means social distancing rules will be in place across the city, but offices, schools and businesses can remain open.

       After nearly four months without community transmission, New Zealanders are today on edge.

       The country has taken a zero-tolerance approach to the virus and continues to pursue an elimination strategy.

       The country's response has been among the most effective in the world and the nation of five million people has recorded only 26 coronavirus deaths. But its vaccination campaign has been slow, with just 11pc of the population receiving their first dose.

       Portugal fears a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic may take hold with the highly contagious Indian variant now accounting for more than 60pc of new cases in the capital.

       Lisbon is among a dozen places that did not move into the final phase of easing the lockdown that much of the country has enjoyed.

       Travel between the capital region and the rest of Portugal was banned from last weekend to try to halt the spread of the infection.

       The Indian variant has become the predominant strain in the greater Lisbon area, according to the national health institute.

       Official figures published on Tuesday show 46pc of the population of 10 million have received one dose of a vaccine and 29pc are fully vaccinated.

       British pilots will urge politicians to save the summer holiday season through clearer travel guidance and provide direct financial support to rescue jobs as the industry grapples with an existential crisis brought on by pandemic restrictions.

       The Prime Minister has warned that whatever happens, it will be a difficult year for travel.

       Brian Strutton, the acting General Secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), said: "The Government has to decide if this summer it will make or break the UK travel industry.

       "Pilots are meeting politicians across the UK today to urge them to put pressure on the Government to act now？ and ？save not only the summer but the future of UK aviation and travel."

       A panel of experts convened by the top US health agency will meet today to review data surrounding more than 300 cases of heart muscle inflammation among adolescents and young adults after receiving mRNA Covid vaccines.

       The committee, hosted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will hear a risk-benefit analysis as researchers explore whether the shots can cause myocarditis, as well as cases of inflammation of the heart lining, pericarditis.

       Israel first was the first country to identify a possible link.

       "These cases are rare, and the vast majority have fully resolved with rest and supportive care," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said.

       More than 20 million adolescents and young adults have been vaccinated.

       A previous meeting on the issue by the Food and Drug Administration on June 10 was told that most of the cases were among young men and occurred within a week of the second dose.

       Meanwhile, Israel has recommended vaccinating teenagers following several coronavirus outbreaks clustered around schools, with even fully vaccinated people contracting the virus as authorities blame the more infectious delta variant.

       READ MORE: Israel faces Covid surge as virus circulates even among vaccinated

       Italy's PM is certainly not the only politician to change his second vaccination against coronavirus.

       German Chancellor Angela Merkel has received a Moderna vaccine as her second jab, after getting AstraZeneca as the first.

       The 66-year-old (pictured below) took her first dose of AstraZeneca in April - more than two weeks after German authorities recommended use of the jab only for people aged 60 and over.

       After a stuttering start, Germany's vaccination roll-out has sharply accelerated in recent weeks.

       Just more than half the population have received their first dose.

       READ MORE: Angela Merkel gets Moderna as second jab after AstraZeneca first dose

       Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has had a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine that is different from his first.

       The 73-year-old (pictured above) previously had an AstraZeneca vaccine but switched to a Pfizer jab for his second dose.

       Mr Draghi's government changed its advice on vaccines this month, saying those under the age of 60 should no longer have the AstraZeneca jab due to fears over rare blood clots.

       The recommendation for those who have already had one AstraZeneca dose to switch to another vaccine sparked a major debate in Italy over whether such a mix-and-match approach was safe.

       Last week, Mr Draghi said he would switch from AstraZeneca despite being over 60 after being told his first dose had given a "low antibody response".

       Oxford explores anti-parasitic drug in Covid treatment

       The University of Oxford has tested anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as a possible treatment for Covid-19, as part of a British government-backed study that aims to aid recoveries in non-hospital settings.

       Ivermectin resulted in a reduction of virus replication in lab studies, the university said, and a small pilot showed giving the drug early could reduce viral load and the duration of symptoms in some patients with mild Covid.

       Dubbed PRINCIPLE, the British study in January showed that antibiotics azithromycin and doxycycline were generally ineffective against early-stage Covid.

       While the World Health Organisation, and European and US regulators have recommended against using ivermectin in Covid patients, it is being used to treat the illness in some countries, including India.

       Passengers on two flights between Australia and New Zealand have been ordered to immediately isolate and undergo Covid testing after authorities traced a traveller who tested positive in Sydney after visiting Wellington.

       The case, which adds to a growing coronavirus outbreak in Sydney, prompted New Zealand authorities to suspend quarantine-free travel to and from New South Wales for three days from midnight on Tuesday.

       The Qantas flight to Wellington on Friday and the Air New Zealand flight to Sydney on Monday were added to a list of virus "hotspots" drawn up by Australian authorities.

       The list has been growing with 21 infections detected over the past six days in NSW, Australia's most populous state.

       Masks have been made mandatory at all indoor locations in Sydney in a bid to contain the delta variant.

       The traveller case has also prompted New Zealand health officials to consider a lockdown in Wellington, with authorities saying the person visited several popular tourist locations in the city.

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