England is set take another small step out of COVID-19 lockdown on Monday, but it has one eye on a new wave of the virus surging through large parts of Europe.

From Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to ease his government's "stay at home" message and replace it with a plea to stay local.

People will be allowed to meet in groups of six outdoors, while outdoor sports such as basketball, golf and cricket will be allowed to resume, with social distancing regulations remaining in place. However, most non-essential businesses, including pubs, restaurants and gyms. will remain closed.

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Elsewhere in the UK – in which each of the four countries sets its own COVID-19 protocols – thousands of people flocked to beaches and mountain spots in Wales on Saturday as the government lifted its restrictions on travel.

Despite the easing of restrictions, the government is urging people to abide by the rules that remain in place in order to avoid a further spike in infections. 

'Does not mean job done'

Stephen Powis, medical director of the National Health Service in England, said the easing "does not mean job done. We've made enormous progress that we need to build on and not squander the gains we've made."

The UK has recorded more COVID-19 deaths than any other country in Europe, with more than 126,000 fatalities reported so far. However, its vaccination program also leads the way for the continent.

According to the latest figures from Our World in Data, the UK has given 33.02 million doses of the jab, while Germany, the next most prolific European vaccinator European country, has given 12.36 million.

Surge in COVID-19 infections across Europe

As the UK tentatively eases, many countries in Europe are implementing tougher restrictions amid a surge in new infections.

The number of patients with the virus in French intensive care units rose on Saturday to a new high for the year, while case numbers in countries such as Sweden and Ukraine are on the rise. 

In Germany, Angela Merkel's chief of staff Helge Braun has urged the nation to bring its infection rate down in the next few weeks or risk new mutations of the virus that could be resistant to vaccines. 

"We are in the most dangerous phase of the pandemic...The next few weeks will determine whether we can foreseeably get the pandemic under control," Braun warned.

England has tightened its border controls – from April 6, all lorries entering England for more than two days from outside the UK will have take COVID-19 tests within 48 hours. The government has also told UK citizens that international travel could be off the cards this summer amid fears of new variants of the virus entering the UK.