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11.08pm BST

Boris Johnson is to announce that the lifting of most remaining Covid-19 restrictions in England will go ahead on 19 July amid a backlash from government scientific advisers who have warned that doing so would be like building new variant factories", write my colleagues Aubrey Allegretti and Linda Geddes.

Despite cases having risen to their highest level since January 2021, the prime minister is set to press ahead with the final stage of unlocking in two weeks.

Related: PM to confirm 19 July end to Covid rules despite scientists' warnings

10.48pm BST

A zoo in northern California has started to administer an experimental Covid-19 vaccine to animals deemed at high risk.

Tigers, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions and ferrets at the Oakland zoo were among the first to receive the two-dose jab, which has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to a statement by Conservation Society of California's website.

The Oakland Zoo has begun a vaccination program to inoculate their highest risk animals from COVID-19 with an experimental vaccine that has been authorized by the USDA. https://t.co/N5Azuh1ews pic.twitter.com/YOv0u1f2bK