“As of 9am 26 June, there have been 8,911,226 tests, with 165,665 tests on 25 June. 309,360 people have tested positive. As of 5pm on 25 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 43,414 have sadly died,” the Department tweeted.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Tuesday that pubs, restaurants and hairdressers can reopen if they are COVID-19 Secure from 4 July in England.

“Thanks to our progress, we can now go further and safely ease the lockdown in England. At every stage, caution will remain our watchword, and each step will be conditional and reversible. Given the significant fall in the prevalence of the virus, we can change the two-meter social distancing rule, from 4th July,” Johnson said.

“Where it is possible to keep 2 meters apart people should. But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of ‘one meter plus,” he added.

Meanwhile, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, urged people to stick to social distancing rules.

“We all want to be outside and enjoying the glorious sunshine but if you are heading out please do it safely and stick to social distancing rules. We are making real progress in tackling this virus and we don’t want to undo everyone’s hard work. Please stay alert and save lives,” Hancock said.

ILKHA