LONDON (REUTERS) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out plans for the final step of easing lockdown in England on Monday (July 5), including guidance on social distancing, face coverings and working from home, the government said.

       After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history to battle the novel coronavirus, Mr Johnson is preparing to lift most restrictions in England on July 19, with the final decision on whether to go ahead scheduled for July 12.

       Data suggests that cases will continue to rise as restrictions are eased, but the link to hospitalisations and deaths has been weakened by the vaccination programme, the government said.

       People will learn to live with Covid-19 as they do already with flu, Mr Johnson is expected to say, meaning that hospitalisations, serious illness and deaths will continue but at a much lower level than before widespread vaccination.

       "Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination programme, we are progressing cautiously through our roadmap," Mr Johnson said in a statement.

       "But I must stress that the pandemic is not over and that cases will continue to rise over the coming weeks.

       "As we begin to learn to live with this virus, we must all continue to carefully manage the risks from Covid and exercise judgement when going about our lives."

       Britain has suffered the seventh highest global death toll from Covid-19, and Mr Johnson has faced criticism for his decisions over the timing of each of England’s three lockdowns.

       But the take-up of vaccines in Britain has been strong, with 86 per cent of adults receiving a first dose and 64 per cent receiving two doses as of Sunday, government data shows.

       Britain is lifting restrictions as countries like Australia, which have much lower case numbers but a slower vaccine roll-out, are seeing more restrictions imposed.

       However, cases of Covid-19 have risen in recent weeks, driven by the now-dominant Delta variant, and the final step of lockdown easing was delayed by four weeks to enable more people to be vaccinated.

       Data from Public Health England shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe illness and hospitalisation from this variant, the government said.

       Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sunday face masks would no longer be mandatory after the final step in lockdown easing.

       "We're going to be shifting much more to an approach which is where there is guidance, but you take personal responsibility... about what is the right thing to do to protect yourself and others," junior health minister Helen Whately told Sky News on Monday.

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