LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson will provide an update Monday on plans for easing COVID-19 restrictions in England, amid speculation he will scrap rules that require people to wear masks in many public settings. Johnson will hold a press conference on “freedom day’’ — the government’s plan to end the remaining coronavirus restrictions on business and social interactions on July 19. A final decision will be announced on July 12 based on data like vaccination rates and the risks posed by virus variants. The number of confirmed new infections in the U.K. has risen 67% from the previous week. But almost 86% of U.K. adults have received at least one dose of vaccine and 63.4% are fully vaccinated.
