Coronavirus: What’s happening in Canada and around the world on Monday

The latest:

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out plans for the final step of easing COVID-19 lockdown in England on Monday, including guidance on physical distancing, face coverings and working from home.

After imposing the most onerous restrictions in Britain’s peacetime history to battle the novel coronavirus, Johnson is preparing to lift most restrictions in England on July 19, with a final decision due on July 12.

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

“Thanks to the successful rollout of our vaccination program, we are progressing cautiously through our roadmap,” Johnson said in a statement released by his office. “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 judgment when going about our lives.”

The uptake of vaccines in Britain has been strong — 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 hospitalization 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, you make a common sense judgment, about what is the right thing to do to protect yourself and others,” junior health minister Helen Whately told Sky News.

-From Reuters, last updated at 8:10 a.m. ET

What’s happening across Canada WATCH |  Quarantine measures relaxed for fully vaccinated Canadian travellers:  Starting Monday, Canada will relax its post-travel quarantine rules for fully vaccinated Canadians, but it doesn’t mean more people are eligible to enter the country — and the new rules have plenty of fine print. 2:03

As of early Monday morning, Canada had reported 1,416,969 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 6,159 considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths stood at 26,360. More than 38.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far across the country.

In Atlantic Canada on Sunday, health officials in Nova Scotia reported three new cases of COVID-19. New Brunswick, meanwhile, reported one new case and one additional death. There were no updates from health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

In Quebec, health officials are expected to provide updated figures covering the weekend later Monday.

Ontario on Sunday reported nine additional deaths and 213 new cases of COVID-19. The province is opening up eligibility to all 12- to 17-year-olds for an accelerated second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as of 8 a.m ET on Monday.  

In the Prairie provinces, Manitoba reported two additional deaths and 64 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. 

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, reported 27 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. 

Health officials in Alberta and British Columbia are expected to provide updated figures covering the weekend later Monday.

Across the North, there were no updates from territorial or health officials on Sunday.

-From CBC News and The Canadian Press, last updated at 6:30 a.m. ET

What’s happening around the world Workers unload tanks at an emergency oxygen station set up near the National Monument in Jakarta on Monday to supply anyone who needs it during home isolation as COVID-19 infections soar. (Mariana/AFP/Getty Images)

As of early Monday morning, more than 183.7 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus database, which collects information from around the world. The reported global death toll stood at more than 3.9 million.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Indonesia has ordered oxygen makers to prioritize medical needs amid growing demand from COVID-19 patients, the government said on Sunday, following more than 60 deaths in a hospital where supply was almost exhausted.

Australia’s New South Wales said on Monday the next two days would be “absolutely critical” in deciding whether a two-week anti-coronavirus lockdown in Sydney, set to end on July 9, will have to be extended amid rising delta variant cases.

A woman wearing a protective mask walks past city centre restaurant tables closed to seating in accordance with public health regulations during a lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Sydney, Australia, on Monday. (Loren Elliott/Reuters)

In Europe, Russia on Sunday reported more than 25,000 new cases of coronavirus infection, the largest number since January, as the country faces a sharp surge over the past month.

Health Minister Olivier Veran on Sunday urged as many French people as possible to get a COVID-19 vaccine, warning that France could be heading for a fourth wave of the pandemic by the end of the month due to the highly transmissible delta variant.

In Africa, South Africa’s resurgence of COVID-19 is setting record numbers of new daily cases, centred in Johannesburg and driven by the delta variant that was first found in India. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, more than 26,000 new cases were reported on Saturday, up from 24,000 the previous day, surpassing the highest number of new cases in previous waves. South Africa’s official death toll has gone above 63,000,

In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, the fifth vaccine to receive such approval by the Gulf Arab state, the health ministry said in a statement to state news agency WAM on Sunday.

People fill the National Mall to watch the fireworks display during Independence Day celebrations in Washington, D.C. While pandemic restrictions have been lifted for much of the country, the delta variant of COVID-19 is hospitalizing thousands of Americans. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

In the Americas, U.S. President Joe Biden celebrated the nation’s 245th birthday on Sunday by opening the gates of the White House and calling on Americans to do their part to end the COVID-19 pandemic once and for all.

“This year, the Fourth of July is a day of special celebration for we are emerging from the darkness of … a year of pandemic and isolation, a year of pain, fear and heartbreaking loss,” Biden told a White House party opened to around 1,000 people, including military families and workers involved in the COVID-19 response. “We never again want to be where we were a year ago today.”

-From The Associated Press and Reuters, last updated at 7 a.m. ET