was set for 1 august. 17 july prime minister boris johnson announces a further easing of lockdown restrictions for england, with plans for a "significant return to normality" by christmas. the new rules allow people to use public transport for non-essential journeys with immediate effect, while employers will have more discretion over their work places from 1 august. from 18 july, local authorities will have the power to enforce local shutdowns. johnson announces an extra £3bn for the nhs in england to help prepare for a possible second wave of covid-19 over the coming winter. johnson announces a pilot scheme for a return to spectator sports, with a view to a full return by 1 october. the 2020 world snooker championship and the glorious goodwood festival are among the first two sporting events to be part of the pilot. a pilot scheme is also announced for a return to indoor performances with socially distanced audiences at theatres, music and performance venues, with a view to a full return in august. health secretary matt hancock calls for a review of the way covid-19 deaths are recorded in england after public health england confirms it records deaths as covid related even if the death occurs several months after someone has tested positive for the virus; the other home nations do not record a death as covid related if it occurs more than 28 days after a positive test. rochdale introduces extra social distancing precautions to avoid full lockdown following a rise in covid-19 cases in the area. princess beatrice marries edoardo mapelli mozzi at windsor castle in a private ceremony attended by the queen and close family, the wedding having been postponed from 29 may due to the covid-19 pandemic. captain sir tom moore is knighted by the queen in a ceremony at windsor castle. british airways announces plans to retire its entire fleet of boeing 747s four years ahead of schedule following a downturn in travel precipitated by the covid-19 outbreak. 18 july andrei kelin, russia's ambassador to the uk, rejects allegations that russian intelligence agents tried to steal covid-19 vaccine research information. local authorities in england get new powers to close shops and outdoor public spaces, and to cancel events in order to control covid-19. 19 july prime minister boris johnson tells the sunday telegraph he does not believe it will be necessary to impose a second nationwide lockdown in the event of a spike in covid-19 cases, comparing the option to a "nuclear deterrent". robert buckland, the secretary of state for justice, announces the creation of ten temporary courts in england and wales to deal with a backlog of legal cases brought about by the pandemic. 20 july the uk has signed a deal for 90 million doses of promising vaccines being developed jointly by the pharmaceutical companies biontech and pfizer, and by valneva. this is in addition to the 100 million doses being developed by the university of oxford and astrazeneca. preliminary results of clinical trials of a drug developed by southampton-based biotech firm synairgen, that uses the protein interferon beta, have shown promising signs. the treatment involves a patient inhaling the protein, produced by the body to fight viral infections, into the lungs using a nebuliser in order to encourage an immune response. clinical trials of the vaccine being developed by the university of oxford on 1,077 patients show that it appears to be safe, and trains the immune system to produce covid-19 antibodies. boris johnson says he is confident but not "100% confident" a vaccine will be available in 2020. the uk government is investing £14m in two factories at port talbot, south wales, and blackburn, lancashire to produce a million high quality face coverings per week. high street retailer marks & spencer announces 950 job losses as a result of the continuing economic impact from the pandemic. 21 july chancellor rishi sunak announces that 900,000 public sector workers, including doctors and teachers, will get an above-inflation pay rise of 3.1% in acknowledgement of the important role they have played during the pandemic. health experts, including wellcome trust director professor sir jeremy farrar, tell the house of commons health committee that even with a vaccine the uk is likely to be living with covid-19 for many years. 22 july figures released by the home office reveal that a backlog of 400,000 passport applications have accumulated due to disruption caused by the covid-19 pandemic. an office for national statistics report has concluded that a majority of children have struggled with learning at home during the lockdown. fitness coach joe wicks presents his final online pe with joe exercise class after leading the daily sessions for the past 18 weeks. 23 july during a visit to scotland to mark the first year of taking office as prime minister, boris johnson says that the response to the covid-19 pandemic proves the "sheer might" and "merits of the union". a report published by the house of commons public accounts committee criticises the uk government for its "astonishing" failure to plan for the economic impact of the covid-19 pandemic. the house of commons culture select committee criticises the government for being too slow to respond to what it describes as the "existential threat" faced by live theatre, music and other culture because of the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. vacuum cleaner manufacturer dyson announces the loss of 900 jobs, 600 of them in the uk, as a result of the financial impact of the covid-19 pandemic. northern ireland's department of health confirms the release of northern ireland's contact-tracing app, stopcovid ni, for as early as 29 july. northern ireland is the first part of the uk to launch a contact-tracing app. 24 july in an interview with bbc political editor laura kuenssberg, prime minister boris johnson says that the uk government did not understand the nature of covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, and could have done things differently. he also says there are "open questions" about whether lockdown was implemented too late. face coverings become compulsory in shops and most other enclosed public places in england. the list of countries from where travellers do not have to quarantine when arriving in england is updated, adding estonia, latvia, slovakia, slovenia and st vincent and the grenadines; travellers from portugal must still isolate for 14 days. office for national statistics figures show that retail sales increased almost to pre-lockdown levels in june, having risen 13.9% compared to may. 25 july gyms, indoor swimming pools and leisure centres reopen public health england warns that being obese and overweight puts people at greater risk of severe illness or death as a result of covid-19. share prices in synairgen are reported to have increased by 540% after news of the successful interferon-beta based drug trial. following a rise in covid-19 cases in spain, and concerns of a second wave, the uk government confirms travellers returning to england from spain will be required to quarantine for 14 days from 26 july. 26 july foreign secretary dominic raab says it was right to act quickly, following criticism of the government's short-notice decision to reimpose quarantine rules on travellers arriving from spain. the uk's largest tour operator, tui, cancels all flights from the uk to mainland spain until 9 august. transport secretary grant shapps, who flew out to spain for a holiday the previous day, is caught by the change of quarantine rules. 27 july the first confirmed case of an animal infection with sars-cov-2 in the uk is reported, having been detected in a pet cat. analysis from the economic forecasting group the ey item club suggests it will take until 2024 for the uk economy to recover from the impact of covid-19 and the lockdown. the uk changes its advice on travel to spain, advising against all non-essential travel to mainland spain, the balearic and canary islands. transport secretary grant shapps announces plans to travel home early from a family holiday in spain due to quarantine rules. travel operator jet2 cancels all flights to mainland spain from 28 july to 17 august. the number of people having tested positive for covid-19 in the uk passes 300,000 after a further 685 positive tests bring the total number of cases to 300,111; seven deaths are also reported, the lowest daily number since 12 march, and taking the total to 45,759. 28 july amid criticism that the decision to impose quarantine restrictions on people arriving from spain is unjust, prime minister boris johnson defends the government's decision, saying further action will be taken if necessary. johnson also warns that there are signs of a european second wave of the virus. the andrew lloyd webber musical the phantom of the opera ends its 33-year run in the west end as a result of the financial impact of the covid-19 pandemic. 29 july leading figures in the airline and travel industries are urging the uk government to end blanket quarantine rules which are impacting on their sectors, and instead to introduce regional restrictions allowing unrestricted travel to areas of a country without significant covid-19 outbreaks. the uk government announces a £500m scheme to help film and television with the costs of projects delayed or abandoned because of the covid-19 pandemic. the national trust announces plans for 1,200 redundancies in order to save £100m; the organisation estimates it has lost £200m because of the covid-19 pandemic. 30 july in a bid to avoid a resurgence of covid-19, the period for which someone testing positive for, or showing signs of, the virus is required to self-isolate is extended from seven to ten days. prime minister boris johnson warns the uk is "not out of the woods" as he warns of the danger of a resurgence. restrictions are placed on greater manchester, and parts of east lancashire and yorkshire prohibiting separate households from meeting indoors following an "increasing rate of transmission" in those areas caused by people failing to adhere to social distancing rules. the restrictions take effect from midnight. luxembourg is taken off the uk quarantine exemption list following a rise in covid-19 cases. office for national statistics figures indicate england had the highest number of excess deaths in europe between the end of february and mid-june, and had the second highest peak of deaths behind spain. the together campaign, which includes the nhs, charities, media groups and employers, launches a consultation on how to avoid community divisions in the months ahead. the organisation has noted that the sense of community spirit fostered during lockdown is beginning to fragment. cinema chain vue announces plans to reopen some of its venues from 7 august. the office for statistics regulation criticises first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon for comments she made in which she claimed covid-19 rates were five times higher in england than scotland. northern ireland's contact tracing app stopcovid ni is launched. jet2 tells customers in the balearic and canary islands to end their holidays early. tui announces the closure of 166 of its high street outlets in the uk and ireland, affecting 900 jobs. 31 july prime minister boris johnson postpones some lockdown easing measures scheduled to begin in england on 1 august for two weeks amid concerns about rising covid-19 cases. bowling alleys and casinos will remain closed until 15 august, while wedding receptions of up to 30 people are also moved back to that date. trials of spectator sporting events are also paused. from 8 august the wearing of face coverings in more indoor settings, such as cinemas and places of worship will become mandatory. the ons household survey indicates covid-19 cases in england are rising again, with an increase from 2,800 to 4,200 daily cases in the week of 20–26 july. the delayed 2020 british academy television awards are held as a virtual ceremony. northern ireland pauses its shielding programme. 1 august the shielding programme is paused for england and scotland, but will continue for the areas where extra precautions have been introduced. changes to the furlough scheme come into effect, with firms who have furloughed workers required to contribute to the coronavirus job retention scheme. they must pay national insurance and pension contributions until the scheme ends in october. 2 august a major incident is declared in greater manchester after rises in covid-19 infection rates.