We know the date is 19 July – here's what we still don't know about the data

Boris Johnson has confirmed he plans to lift all England's remaining coronavirus regulations at the next stage of the road map, currently planned for 19 July.

Mask wearing will become voluntary, social distancing in pubs and bars will end and work from home guidance will be scrapped, Johnson said.

A decision on whether to press ahead on 19 July will be made on 12 July.

When he first outlined his roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions in February, the PM insisted that all the government's decision would be led by "data not dates".

It was concerning data about the spread of the Delta variant, first identified in India, that led Johnson to delay the final stage of lockdown easing for four weeks.

However, experts warn existing data does not paint a full picture of the risks posed by doing away with all restrictions.

Here are four things the data so far doesn't tell us.

How much have vaccines broken the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths?

Vaccines have saved the lives of tens of thousands of people in England, according to Public Health England (PHE).

It is clear that the vaccine rollout has vastly improved the shape of the pandemic, protecting the vulnerable and making coronavirus less deadly.

The graph below shows COVID cases and hospital admissions in the UK since September 2020.During the second wave last winter, the increase in hospital admissions mirrored the increase in cases.

However as cases begin to trend upwards in May 2021, the increase in hospitalisations is far less steep.

Speaking on 1 July, the prime minister said it was "ever clearer" that jabs had "broken that link between infection and mortality".

However experts warn the link has been weakened – but not completely severed.

Some 14% of the adult population is yet to receive a vaccine, and more than a third have not received a second jab, leaving them vulnerable to the Delta variant.

Consequently it is not yet clear what the impact of the current exponential growth in cases will be in terms of hospitalisations and deaths.