Boris Johnson to end England’s coronavirus lockdown

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says shops, hairdressers, beauty salons and gyms in England will reopen and some fans will be allowed back into sports stadiums when a four-week lockdown comes to an end next week.

Johnson confirmed to lawmakers Monday the government will lift the stay-at-home instruction on Dec. 2 that were introduced early this month to curb a new surge in coronavirus cases. Shops, gyms, personal care businesses and leisure facilities will be allowed to reopen, and collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume.

The lockdown will be replaced with regional measures involving three tiers of restrictions based on the scale of the outbreak in different areas. The measures have been toughened slightly from a similar system that was in place last month because government scientific advisers say those measures were not enough to stop the virus spreading.

People will have to wait until later in the week to learn what tier their local area will be in, but the government says most of the country is likely to be in the two highest levels.