Dexter the dog was sacked as a potential drug-sniffer because he was "too sociable".

He was training to be part of the Metropolitan Police's anti-drug squad but after failing the programme, they found him a new role as a "wellbeing dog".

Now, he helps officers relax following tough assignments and has been visiting hospitals in the hope he can offer Covid-stressed NHS staff a chance to unwind.

Image source, PA

Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group (SPI-M), says the number of hospital admissions will be key to England staying on track with lockdown easing.

"As we unlock we will see, potentially, cases rising," Dr Tildesley told Times Radio on Sunday.

"But if we don't see hospital admissions rising then, hopefully, we can be confident we can keep the relaxation campaign on schedule."

Adam Easton
Warsaw correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Poland reported 29,253 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, up 34% compared with one week ago, as a third wave continues to gather momentum, the health ministry said.

There were 131 virus-related deaths, the ministry added. Poland’s third wave is expected to peak during the Easter holidays.

New daily infections reached all-time highs last week, exceeding 35,000 on Friday and the seven day average has now exceeded the peak reached during the second wave in November.

Officials attribute the spike in infections to the highly contagious UK variant, which is responsible for 80% of all new cases.

Heightened restrictions took effect on Saturday with kindergartens, large DIY/furniture stores and hairdressers closing for two weeks. Numbers allowed in supermarkets and churches are restricted further.

Officials have urged people to work from home and not travel for Easter. The measures are in addition to a partial national lockdown introduced last weekend that closed shopping centres, hotels, cultural and sporting facilities.

For the best part of a year, schools have been closed and restaurants, bars and cafes have only been able to offer take away service only.

Image source, PA Media

The UK has "gone from being cavalier to crippling caution" in its approach to Covid, a former head of drug maker GlaxoSmithKline has said.

Sir Richard Sykes, who is now chairman of the Royal Institution, said the possibility of a third wave of infections in the UK was concerning but "very, very unlikely".

"We have gone from being cavalier to crippling caution and I think that's dangerous," he told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House.

"There could be, but it's very, very unlikely that there will be a third wave."

In a wide-ranging interview, Sykes defended Oxford jab maker AstraZeneca's supply strategy - but he criticised the firm for its communciations amid a row over supplies with the EU.

And reflecting on the achievements of all the vaccine manufacturers, Sykes said: “What we’ve done in nine months is create a vaccine that is ninety-something percent effective, and absolutely safe, and got it into millions of people. I think has to stand as one of the great achievements of mankind.”

• Listen to this week's episode of Broadcasting House on BBC Sounds

Here's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden telling Andrew Marr earlier he's confident the government's vaccine rollout timetable remains "on course" - in particular for over-50's who should get the jab by the end of April.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has tweeted that lorry drivers travelling to England from outside the UK, who stay for two days or more, will be required to take a Covid test within 48 hours of arriving.

If they remain in the UK for a longer period, a second test is required within five days of arrival - with a third test required a further 72 hours later if they are still in the UK.

The new rules will take effect from 6 April.

All drivers arriving in England from continental Europe will be required to complete passenger locator forms to facilitate contact while in the UK.

Tests will be available free at more than 40 Government Haulier Advice sites, and there will be fines of £2000 for failure to comply.

In addition to the rules on testing, lorry drivers entering the UK will have to follow government rules on social distancing.

A second tweet by Mr Shapps said new rules were being "updated" after he said French authorities have dropped their requirement for cross-channel haulier testing.

France - and many parts of Europe - are currently experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, prompting fears of a third wave in the UK.

Image source, Reuters

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has insisted vaccine passports will not be introduced on a "permanent basis".

"Of course we would never look to do this on a permanent basis, it's just whether it might be a tool in the short-term," he told the Andrew Marr Show on the BBC.

He stressed no decisions had yet been made on Covid certification, but "it's important to examine it".

Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, said vaccine passports were something that needed to be considered.

"It's certainly something we have to consider seriously, as part of a wider package of measures that are designed to make our activities safe," he told Andrew Marr.

"Over the last year, when we have tried to make ourselves safe, we have tended to do this by stopping activities," he said, referring to the lockdown measures

"Part of the point of living with this virus, is we have to switch emphasis," said Prof Woolhouse.

Image source, NICK@REDANDROUND

A theatre company in Rutland has been forced to postpone its staging of a Shakespeare classic, due to fears Romeo and Juliet cannot observe social distancing.

The Stamford Shakespeare Company, which holds annual productions at Tolethorpe Hall said it had to cancel the play which was due to run between June and September.

The company said the play's intimate scenes made rehearsals "impossible".

Read more here.

As we've been reporting, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has confirmed this morning that a new vaccine - from US firm Moderna - is on the way to Britain.

It works in a similar way to the Pfizer one already being offered on the NHS and will be available during April.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control, Moderna is said to be 94% effective at preventing Covid in people who received two doses and who had no evidence of being previously infected.

It's given in two shots, one month apart.

Image source, EPA

Back to epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse who was interviewed on Marr.

He said an increase in the number of virus cases is "inevitable as we relax restrictions".

Without the entire adult population being vaccinated "there is still potential for the virus to spread" he said.

"The question is whether or not those increasing cases will translate into a large number of hospitalisations and deaths."

He said the vaccine's efficacy so far was " excellent - and very encouraging" but "we have to be careful".

"Some of the more pessimistic scenarios out there do allow for a significant third wave - so that's something we have to continue to guard against."

"What we need to do is make sure we have systems and processes in place so that we don't allow the virus to get out of control again."

He said it was "crucial" for the whole world to monitor new variants and identify causes of concern that might help in the updating of vaccines in the future.

Professor Woolhouse said he foresaw we would have to "remain alert" to coronavirus throughout 2021 and beyond, suggesting we would still need to rely on Test and Trace, and a process of self-isolation would still be required.

"We are going to have to think very hard about coronavirus safety going forward."

He added that another national lockdown "would be a failure of public health policy" and that we had "all the tools in place" to avoid it.

Image source, Reuters

A search is under way in the Republic of Ireland after three people absconded from a mandatory quarantine hotel in north Dublin on Saturday.

Two people remain missing as RTÉ News reports one of those who left the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry without permission has since been found.

People arriving into the Republic from a list of 33 'high-risk' countries, or who land without a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test must undergo 14 days quarantine.

Read more here.

Image source, EPA

Epidemiologist and government advisor Professor Mark Woolhouse says he is "nervous" about the prospect of full relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in June - as currently set out in the government's road map.

"It will be important that the government continues to be guided by the data," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

Professor Woolhouse said it would depend how well the vaccine is performing: "If they go on at this rate, I think we can get quite close to a full release, but the idea that we can suddenly emerge from this in one great bound, I think is a little over-optimistic."

He told Marr that delays to vaccine supply chains "will slow down the rate at which we can unlock".

"It's not just about the actual number of vaccines being given out, but the coverage of those most vulnerable groups".

He stressed coverage had been "excellent" for the first dose - which affords 80-90% protection - but said we have to bear in mind that only we were only about one fifth of the way to completely vaccinating our entire adult population with both doses " so this is going to go on for quite a long time yet".

Image source, PA Media

Ministers want to reduce social-distancing as far as possible to boost theatres and sporting venues, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said.

From the middle of April, a series of pilots will explore ways indoor and outdoor venues can welcome fans, spectators and audiences once more.

He told Andrew Marr that summer allows for a "natural easing of the disease" - and that the UK will be a long way along the path of easing lockdown by then.

Covid certification - such as vaccine passports - are one of the measures that will be considered, Mr Dowden said.

But all the government's efforts to reopen the cultural sector rely on data continuing to improve, he added.

Asked if he can guarantee this would be the last lockdown in England, Mr Dowden said the aim of the current roadmap to ease curbs was that it is "irreversible".

He said his experience of the past year "was that you can't rule things out".

"We have every confidence that we won't have to have another lockdown," he told Andrew Marr.

"It is the last thing in the world we would want to do."

Asked about the US Moderna vaccine, Mr Dowden said the key thing to understand is that the government remains "on course to deliver the vaccine rollout by the middle of next month" for the over-50s.

He said ministers "are confident" this can be achieved with just the two currently-available jabs, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

On second doses for those who have had a first jab, Dowden said he was "confident" this can be delivered as planned.

There is a "sense of relief in the air" as lockdown restrictions ease in England, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show.

He said slow steps towards normality were possible because the country's vaccine rollout was "on track", which means the roadmap out of lockdown can continue as planned.

Mr Dowden said a key difference between the coming summer and last year is an effort to get people back into venues like theatres - with pilots on distancing in venues ongoing.

It's also been confirmed that the Moderna vaccine is expected to arrive in the UK in April. (Earlier there was uncertainty over whether the culture secretary meant this month or next.)

Asked about the use of vaccine passports to help reopen hospitality in Wales, Mr Drakeford said the idea of a vaccine certificate "domestically" was under consideration but there were "practical and ethical challenges".

He said any system must be "fair and reliable" - suggesting that might rule out system of self-certification.

He told Andrew Marr show it was an issue that the four devolved nations of the UK "should solve together".

Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he believes the virus "is with us for the foreseeable future".

He told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show "life can be, and will be, better" as lockdown restrictions ease in Wales, but added that we "have to go on doing the things that keep each other and one another safe".

Mr Drakeford said given the rising case numbers in parts of Europe and the spread of new variants "there is a job of work still to be done in making sure coronavirus is in the rearview mirror".

It remains "an inherently uncertain time," he said.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is appearing on the Sunday political shows for the government this morning.

He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge that the government will look to remove as many Covid restrictions "as we possibly can" to make cultural institutions like theatres viable once more.

He said the government is "conducting a range of pilots as to how we can achieve that" looking at ventilation, testing and Covid certification.

The final step of the government's roadmap for easing lockdown in England will allow the return of indoor events no earlier than 21 June, with social distancing in place.