United Kingdom

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due on Monday to set out plans to end social and economic COVID-19 restrictions in England, in a test of whether a rapid vaccine rollout offers enough protection from the highly contagious Delta variant.

Johnson's announcement at 1600 GMT is expected to confirm that he aims to end restrictive measures on July 19, and will include guidance on social distancing, face coverings and working from home.

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - The data that will decide if final lockdown restrictions in England can be lifted on July 19 is looking "very positive", thanks to the success of the vaccination programme, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said on Sunday.

"The data that we're seeing that the Prime Minister is reviewing at the moment ahead of his decision point on the roadmap looks very positive," he told Sky News.

LONDON, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Britain has reported another 24,885 coronavirus cases in the latest 24-hour period, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,879,616, according to official figures released Saturday.

The country also recorded another 18 coronavirus-related death. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 128,207. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

LONDON (AP) — More than 6 million European Union citizens applied to settle in the U.K. before the end-June deadline that the British government had imposed as part of the country’s departure from the bloc.

In a statement Friday, Britain’s Home Office said of the 6.02 million people who had applied, 400,000 applications were made in the final month before the end of the EU Settlement Scheme.

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel signalled a relaxation of quarantine rules for fully-vaccinated Britons on Friday following a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson aimed at shoring up post-Brexit relations.

COVID-19 travel restrictions were high on the agenda of what is due to be Merkel's last trip to Britain as chancellor as cases of the highly transmissible Delta variant surge in the country.

LONDON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Britain's main opposition Labour Party retained a House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament) seat in the West Yorkshire constituency after winning the by-election in Batley and Spen by a narrow margin on Friday.

Labour candidate Kim Leadbeater received 13,296 votes, a majority of just 323 votes over Conservative candidate Ryan Stephenson. George Galloway, leader of the British Workers Party, came third with 8,264 votes.

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to push Angela Merkel to drop her efforts to impose COVID-19 restrictions on British travelers as the German chancellor makes her final visit to Britain before stepping down in the coming months.

Johnson will hold talks with Merkel at his country residence on Friday. The German leader is also expected to speak to a meeting of the Cabinet, the first foreign leader to do so since Bill Clinton in 1997, although this time the address will be delivered by video link.

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was confident Britons fully vaccinated against COVID-19 would be able to travel abroad this year.

Britain permitted limited quarantine-free travel in May and June, and is trying to encourage other European countries to accept British travellers.

The British government has said it will this month set out details of plans to allow those who have had both COVID-19 vaccine shots to avoid self-isolation on return from top tourist destinations such as Spain and France.

LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Voters in a northern English region were casting their ballots on Thursday in a new test of whether British Prime Minister Boris Johnson can extend his Conservative Party's control over traditionally opposition-supporting areas.

The constituency Batley and Spen, which has voted for the opposition Labour Party since 1997, could hand another victory to Johnson, whose pursuit of Brexit and promise to tackle inequality has won over many voters in northern England.

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - British education minister Gavin Williamson on Wednesday said he expects to be able to end the restrictions and bubble system in England's schools when other freedoms are regained in the last step out of lockdown, scheduled for July 19.

The current system can result in entire classes of pupils being asked to self isolate if one of their classmates tests positive for COVID-19.

"What I want to see is these restrictions, including bubbles removed as quickly as possible, along with wider restrictions in society," Williamson told lawmakers.