More pupils in Wales are returning to the classroom for the first time since December. All remaining primary school children, pupils in Years 11 and 13 and many college students are heading back to class on Monday.

The youngest children, aged three to seven, have been back since February. Schools have the flexibility to bring back pupils in Years 10 and 12 as well, while offering wellbeing check-in sessions for those in Years 7, 8 and 9. All secondary pupils are due back full-time from 12 April.

Those in Year 10 and above are encouraged to take rapid Covid tests twice a week and face coverings must be worn in class if social distancing is not possible.

Image source, PA Media

More pupils are returning to school in Scotland in the latest phase of lockdown easing.

Children in primaries aged four to seven are due to join their younger classmates - who were the first to go back to school on February 22.

All high school students will be able to head back to the classroom part-time but many will continue to do some learning at home until after Easter.

They will have to observe distancing rules and wear a mask in classrooms.

It means some children in S1-S3 will be in school for less than two hours a week.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that giving pupils even a small amount of time in schools would have benefits.

However, teacher's unions have criticised the move as "counterproductive".

Many in Wales are looking forward to their first haircut in months as hairstylists reopen.

Hairdressers and barbers can reopen for appointments only from Monday, after a relaxation of Covid lockdown rules.

Kat Trelawny, from Rhiwbina, Cardiff, has already booked appointments for her family of four.

Salon owner Jacquie Jenkins said some clients who live alone burst into tears when she phoned them to say she was reopening.

Salon's closed before Christmas, days before Wales went into a level four lockdown on 28 December.

Confusion remains among mobile stylists, who feel they have been "left in the dark" by the Welsh government over whether they can can also get back to work on Monday.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford vaccine group which developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, has said "safety is clearly absolutely paramount" and no link had been found between the vaccine and blood clots.

He was speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme after several European countries suspended use of the coronavirus vaccine over concerns about possible side effects.

He said there was "very reassuring evidence that there is no increase in a blood clot phenomenon here in the UK, where most of the doses in Europe been given so far".

Finland has also done a "very careful study" and not found an increased risk, he added.

Prof Pollard warned there were "huge risks" from Covid and "if we have no vaccination and we come out of lockdown in this country, we will expect tens of thousands of more deaths to occur during this year".

He added that a number of countries around Europe are now seeing an increase in cases again.

"It's absolutely critical that we don't have a problem of not vaccinating people and have the balance of a huge risk - a known risk of Covid - against what appears so far from the data that we've got from the regulators - no signal of a problem," he said.

BBC Breakfast

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Prof Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the JCVI, says all over-50s will be vaccinated within the next few weeks.

He told BBC Breakfast: "In primary care, we're still vaccinating cohort six - all with underlying illness - and some of seven.

"But, throughout the country, we're going down to cohort nine.

"Most people over the age of 50 will be vaccinated really within the next few weeks - so it is tremendously successful.

"Those first nine priority groups included 99% of all hospitalisations and deaths, certainly in wave one of the pandemic, so we're feeling very optimistic.

"We're seeing a very sharp reduction in the deaths and hospitalisations throughout the country."

Image source, Reuters

Looking beyond the UK, here are the coronavirus stories that are making headlines across the world today.

• AstraZeneca has offered reassurance on the safety of its Covid-19 vaccine, after several countries suspended its use over concerns about possible side effects
• In the US, the country’s infectious disease expert says it would be "a game-changer" if former President Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to get the coronavirus vaccine
• Coronavirus restrictions were reimposed across much of Italy on Monday, after rising infections caused concern despite the gathering pace of vaccinations
• The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea is facing a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections, which neighbouring Australia and aid groups fear could overwhelm the country's small and overstretched health system

BBC Breakfast

Prof Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), says all the current evidence shows the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is safe.

If there were any concerns about it, the public would be informed "straight away", he told BBC Breakfast.

He said the European regulator of medicines, the British regulator - the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the World Health Organisation and AstraZeneca have "all said this vaccine is safe".

"At the moment, the message is absolutely clear - go and get your vaccine when offered," he said.

"I spent all yesterday in our practice vaccinating with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine - I would not be immunising my own patients unless I felt it was safe."

He said there was "no demonstrable difference" in the number of blood clots seen between the general population and the 11 million who have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab to date.

"We have to remember that there are 3,000 blood clots a month on average in the general population and because we're immunising so many people, we are bound to see blood clots at the same time as the vaccination, and that's not because they are due to the vaccination," he said. "That's because they occur naturally in the population."

He added "the risks of not having the Covid vaccination far outweigh the risks from the vaccinations".

Image source, Reuters

The Netherlands is the latest country to suspend use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, over concerns about reports of blood clotting.

It will be suspended until at least 29 March as a precaution, the Dutch government said.

The Republic of Ireland has also made a similar decision after reports from Denmark and Norway about possible side effects.

But the World Health Organization says there is no link between the coronavirus vaccine and an increased risk of developing a blood clot.

Manufacturer AstraZeneca also says there is no evidence of a link.

The European Medicines Agency is carrying out a review but says the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh any risks.

And in the UK, medicines regulator the MHRA has urged people to still get their vaccine, and that evidence “does not suggest” the jab causes clots.

Good morning and welcome to our live page coverage as we bring you the latest on coronavirus news from the UK and around the world.

Here are some of the main headlines this morning.

• The Netherlands has suspended use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution, after concerns about reports of blood clotting. The World Health Organization says it is safe
• More pupils in Wales and Scotland are returning to schools from today
• Hairdressers and barbers are reopening in Wales
• Two of the biggest names in hospitality have threatened to take the government to court over its plans to release England from lockdown

Join us for the latest on these and other stories.