PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has announced the planned lifting of England’s remaining coronavirus restrictions will be delayed for up to four weeks.

It means lockdown measures could stay in place until July 19 as the PM warned the Government’s roadmap must be “irreversible.”

Limits on numbers for sports events, pubs and cinemas will remain in place, while nightclubs will stay shut and people will be asked to continue working from home where possible.

Downing Street has left open the option of ending restrictions on July 5 if the data proves drastically better than expected but has conceded this is “unlikely”.

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Mr Johnson said he was announcing the delay to “give the NHS that extra time”.

But the Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference weddings would be able to go ahead with more than 30 guests – provided social distancing was in place.

The same provisions would apply to wakes, he said.

“We will continue to pilot events such as Euro 2020 and some theatrical performances,” he added, indicating they will be allowed larger crowds than under the restrictions currently in place elsewhere as part of the research programme.

And in a boost for care home residents, they will also no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days after leaving for visits in most cases.

On whether there is a risk there will be further delay to the lifting of all restrictions, the PM said he is confident we will not need to go beyond four weeks.

In terms of sporting and cultural events over the next four weeks, between 10 and 15 are set to be included in the Government’s extended Events Research Programme.

It is understood 45,000 fans – 50 per cent of capacity at Wembley Stadium – will be allowed in for one of the last-16 matches at Wembley, plus the semi-finals and final.

The All England Championships at Wimbledon, which start on June 28, and Formula One’s British Grand Prix over the weekend of July 16-18 are two of the other major sporting events understood to be under consideration for test event status.

For outdoor venues with a seated capacity of 16,000 or above, the limit is 10,000 or 25 per cent of capacity, whichever is lowest.

For outdoor venues with less seating than that, the limit is 4,000 or 50 per cent of capacity, whichever is lowest. For indoor venues, the limit is 1,000 or 50 per cent capacity, whichever is lowest.

It comes after research from Public Health England suggested the two Covid vaccines most in use in the UK are "highly effective" in preventing hospital admission with the Delta variant.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be 94 per cent effective against hospital admission with the Delta variant after just one dose, and 96 per cent after two doses.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was found to be 71 per cent effective against hospital admission after one dose, and 92 per cent after two doses.

PHE says the protection against death is expected to be high, although further research is taking place.

Mr Johnson confirmed 23 and 24-year-olds will be able to book their vaccine from tomorrow.