Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines are being added to England's travel ban "red list"
It means travellers from those countries will be banned from entering England from 9 April
The coronavirus reproduction number, or R value, in England is between 0.8 and 1, latest figures show
Last week the whole of the UK had an estimated R figure of between 0.7 and 0.9
Another 52 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test have been recorded in the UK
More than 70 MPs have launched a campaign opposing Covid passports in England, amid reports of pilots to test how they would work
The Netherlands is halting AstraZeneca vaccines for under-60s after new reports of rare blood clots following vaccination
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week, has been admitted to hospital
The stay at home rule which has been in place in Scotland for more than three months has been lifted
West End theatres and Glastonbury Festival are among those getting a share of £400m emergency government culture funding
That's all from the live page for today but we'll be back again tomorrow.
Today's coronavirus news has been brought to you by Doug Faulkner, George Wright, Jennifer Meierhans and James Clarke.
Image source, PA MediaPolice forces across England have called for people to obey coronavirus restrictions over the bank holiday weekend
We are going to be bringing our live page updates to a close soon so here's a recap on what's been happening in the UK:
Image source, Getty ImagesIndian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has been admitted to hospital
We're close to winding up the live page for the day, thanks for joining us. Here's a round-up of some of the biggest coronavirus developments around the world today.
Image source, Karen ThorpTeacher Karen Thorp wanted to find a way to thank NHS workers who saved her life when she spent six weeks in hospital with coronavirus last year, so she is buying more than 300 of them an Easter egg.
The 52-year-old, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, says she wanted to "celebrate" her recovery, so raised £800 for staff at Watford Hospital as they "deserve it".
In all 326 chocolate treats will be enjoyed by health workers and £521.50 is being donated to RAISE, external, a charity for hospitals in Hemel Hempstead, St Albans and Watford.
Image source, Karen Thorp
Image source, Getty ImagesResearch shows some animals can catch the virus
From the start of the pandemic, experts have shared their concerns about the impact of coronavirus on animals.
And while scientists say there is currently no evidence animals play a significant role in spreading the disease to people, infections have been confirmed in various species worldwide.
These include dogs, cats, apes and even mink.
To address these infections, scientists are developing Covid-19 vaccines that are specially designed for animals. On Wednesday, Russia announced it has registered what it says is the world's first animal-specific jab.
But are these really necessary? Here's what we know so far.
Bahrain is to allow more than 100 prisoners to serve the remainder of their sentences out of prison, as protesters and rights groups voiced fears over Covid-19 spreading in jails, AFP reports.
A total of 126 prisoners will serve the remainder of their sentences in an "alternative" or non-custodial setting, the public prosecution said in a statement.
The released convicts will be monitored electronically.
Officials said last week three people at the Jaw prison were infected with the virus. It said they had been isolated and were in a stable condition.
But the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy says there have been dozens of infections among prisoners.
"If Bahrain's government is serious about tackling this outbreak, they should be fully transparent rather than undermining the seriousness of the situation at hand," Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of BIRD, said in a statement last week.
Nabeel Rajab, one of Bahrain's most prominent rights activists who was freed from jail last year, welcomed the government's decision.
"May it be a good omen," he tweeted.
These graphs show the number of new coronavirus cases are levelling off in the UK and the death rate remains low.
Meanwhile the UK's vaccination programme continues at speed.
The Netherlands is halting AstraZeneca vaccines for under-60s after new reports of rare blood clots following vaccination, Dutch health authorities have said.
"The immediate cause for the decision are reports of cases of extensive thrombosis in combination with low platelet counts after vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine," the GGD public health service says.
Nurses who were recruited from the Philippines due to a nursing shortage say they have "no regrets" after 20 years in north Wales.
About 100 nurses came in 2001 and took up positions across the three main hospitals.
The recruitment was seen at the time as a temporary measure and the nurses were given two-year contracts - but many stayed and built their lives in Wales.
Joanne Canlas was 27 when she arrived as part of a cohort of 50 to take up a position at Wrexham Maelor hospital.
Philippine nurses 'became part of the NHS family' in Wales
Image source, Getty ImagesSebastian Kurz
The Austrian Chancellor has said his country will provide the Czech Republic with 30,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Sebastian Kurz's office it called a display of solidarity after Austria felt the European Union had not done enough to assist its neighbour.
EU ambassadors agreed on Thursday to change the bloc's vaccine distribution system for 10 million BioNTech-Pfizer doses due to be delivered in the second quarter. This was in order to help countries that needed it more.
Of those 10 million doses, 2.85 million so-called "solidarity vaccines" will be shared between Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia.
Austria says it is "incomprehensible" the Czech Republic - which has been hit hard by the pandemic - was not given more doses.
"We will... support the Czech Republic bilaterally with 30,000 doses of vaccine and believe it is very positive that we have also heard that other European countries are prepared to do the same," a statement by Kurz's office says.
"We do not want to accept that one of our neighbouring countries is left behind," it adds.
Staff at the DVLA headquarters in Swansea will go on strike for four days next week because of concerns over Covid cases among workers.
The office has seen more than 500 cases since September and workers voted to take industrial action last month.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union says its members will strike for four days from 6 April.
The UK government has warned DVLA services will be affected and has been approached for further comment.
PCS says it had been in "intensive talks" with the DVLA to try and address its members' health and safety concerns and avoid strike action, but will now be "asking over 3,300 of our members in Swansea to go on strike to protect workers' safety".
Image source, Getty ImagesDybala insisted that the gathering "wasn't a party"
Juventus players Paulo Dybala, Weston McKennie and Arthur Melo have been dropped for tomorrow's local derby with Torino after breaking Covid-19 rules by attending a dinner party, coach Andrea Pirlo says.
The three stars were reported to have been fined by police who were called by neighbours to the party at McKennie's Turin home on Wednesday night.
"The three players concerned have not been selected, they will return to work at a later time, we'll see about when," Pirlo tells reporters ahead of the Serie A clash.
"It shouldn't happen, both because of what's going on in the world and what's happening with the team," he adds.
Dybala has since apologised, but says he had simply "stayed out for dinner" and insisted the gathering "wasn't a party".
Defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral will also be unavailable for the Italian champions after testing positive for the virus.
A total of 31,301,267 people have received their first coronavirus vaccination in the UK, according to government figures, external, an increase of 153,823 since yesterday's figures.
And 4,948,635 people have received their second dose - up by 435,177 since 24 hours ago.
Find out when you will get the vaccine.
As with the figures for cases and deaths, today's statistics are so far only for England, Northern Ireland and Scotland - there is no data reported for Wales yet.
The UK has recorded a further 52 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, government figures show., external
It brings the total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test to 126,816.
There were also 3,402 new infections reported.
But today's statistics are so far only for England, Northern Ireland and Scotland - there is no data reported for Wales yet.
Susie Forrest
Scotland health producer, BBC Scotland
The critical care unit at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow has seen more Covid-19 patients than any other in Scotland.
Jen Dolan and the other specialist nurses have held the hands of many of them and they are still doing it.
"There is no feeling in the world like holding somebody's hand when their family can't be with them and their heart beats its last beat," she says.
While the staff have got used to treating the virus the volume of patients has been "like a tidal wave", according to senior charge nurse Amanda Allan.
Intensive care charge nurse Emma Small says: "I think people are coping, but we're not dealing with it.
"We're dealing with things completely differently, and I think the psychological impact will be massive."
Read more from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital's front-line staff here.
Intensive care charge nurse Emma Small
Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst
Image source, Getty ImagesThere has been an outbreak in the Chinese border city of Ruili
Life has largely returned to normal in China, although an outbreak in the city of Ruili, which borders Myanmar, has thrown hundreds of thousands of people back into lockdown this week.
China has been strict about implementing lockdown measures as soon as a single case is identified. Consequently, schools and all but essential businesses have closed in the city, which has a population of about 210,000. Mass testing is being carried out throughout Ruili, and today has been extended to border counties and cities.
So far, 16 symptomatic cases of Covid-19 have been reported since Wednesday, and roughly three times as many asymptomatic cases.
Despite this latest outbreak, within the next couple of weeks China is set to surpass the US and become the country that has carried out the most vaccinations in the world.
So far, 126 million vaccine doses have been administered in China. The country’s national Global Times newspaper says the country now has capacity to carry out 10 million vaccine doses daily. This means, in theory, it could inoculate a billion people within 100 days.
China is accelerating its vaccination programme as it has aims to vaccine 40% of its 1.4bn population by the end of June – that equates to it carrying out 560 million vaccinations.
To date, it has largely prioritised vaccinating people in the 18-59 years of age category, but as of today, it has expanded its vaccination drive to begin targeting people over the age of 60
Image source, Rex FeaturesSheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore is missing the Owls' trip to Watford this afternoon after testing positive for Covid-19.
The club has confirmed he is not at the match as he is isolating.
Assistant Jamie Smith is leading Wednesday, who are six points adrift of safety in the Championship, in Moore's absence - and they are currently 1-0 down.
Germany has suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for under-60s, after the German medicines regulator found 31 cases of a type of rare blood clot out of 2.7 million people who had received the jab.
The European Medicines Agency and the UK's regulatory body, MHRA, have said there is no indication the vaccine is linked to blood clots.
Despite this, Angela Merkel has insisted Germany will still offer every adult a vaccine by the end of the summer.
Jenny Hill went to see how the vaccine was made.
Covid 19: Inside the BioNTech vaccine factory in Germany
Image source, ReutersThe US economy saw a surge in hiring in March as vaccination spreads, officials loosened restrictions and people pushed to return to their pre-pandemic activities.
Employers added more than 900,000 jobs driven by reopenings at restaurants, bars, construction sites and schools.
The gains were the biggest since August and helped lower the unemployment rate to 6% from 6.2% in February.
However, overall employment remains far lower than before the pandemic.
The US lost more than 20 million jobs last spring as the virus led to widespread lockdowns. It has regained more than half, but the number of jobs is still more than 8 million down from February 2020.
The US has approved trillions in recovery aid, including a $1.9tn (£1.4tn) package last month, to shield households and businesses from the disruption.
Image source, PacemakerNorthern Ireland's health minister is appealing for people to stay safe over the Easter weekend.
While some regulations have been eased this week, the "stay at home" message remains in the nation - unlike elsewhere in the UK.
Robin Swann says he understands the frustration of facing a holiday weekend with Covid-19 restrictions still in place.
"I would appeal to people not to let their frustrations affect their judgement," he says.
He says people should "make fresh air your friend" this weekend, adding "please don't mix indoors".
Read more here about the Covid restrictions in Northern Ireland.