First doses of a Covid vaccine have been given to 60% of adults in the UK now, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says
And 10.4% of adults have had both vaccination jabs - more second doses than first are being given at the moment
Boris Johnson urges people to keep getting vaccinated amid debate about a potential link between the AstraZeneca jab and blood clots
The Moderna vaccine will be available in the UK "around the third week of April", the government says
The PM says any testing regime for international travel should be easy and cheap
The downward trend in coronavirus cases and deaths in the UK is continuing
Secondary schools in Scotland will reopen full time as planned after the Easter holidays
Australian and New Zealand residents can travel between the two nations without quarantine from 19 April
North Korea has announced it will not take part in the Olympics this year
That's all from us for today but the live page will return again tomorrow with more coronavirus updates.
Today's live page has been brought to you by Alex Therrien, Alexandra Fouche, Doug Faulkner, George Wright, Holly Wallis and James Clarke.
Image source, Getty ImagesFrance has opened large vaccination centres
We're wrapping up our live page coverage for the day. Here's a round-up of the day's biggest developments around the world:
Image source, PA MediaWe'll be closing up for the day shortly but here is a reminder of what has been happening across the UK today:
As we reported earlier a comedy club in Liverpool received a deluge of abuse after it was inaccurately reported to be involved in a Covid vaccine passport scheme over the weekend.
Now the Hot Water Comedy Club says as a result of "misleading press releases/media articles and the confusing messaging on the official government website" it has made the decision not to be part of any government programme.
"We have still not managed to speak to anybody in the government about this," a statement says.
Image source, Stuart JonesStuart Jones said he thought people would now be "much more willing" to shop on the High Street again
We've been hearing a lot over the past few days about how people in the UK are feeling about the route out of lockdown.
Stuart Jones says he is “looking forward to finally opening” his personalised garment printing business in Romsey, Hampshire, for the first time next Monday - 12 April.
The 41-year-old took on a lease in September and was all set to open in November but was stopped by the second lockdown.
He then decided against opening the business at Christmas for many reasons, the main one being what he saw as a “weariness around the pandemic”.
Back then, Stuart, who is from Romsey himself, thought people would be less likely to shop on the High Street but now he hopes with more people vaccinated, shoppers will return and support local businesses again.
Stuart says: “Now we’re on the road to freedom, I’ve had my first vaccine and it feels like there’s light at the end of the tunnel and people are much more willing to shop on the High Street again.
“I know I will be looking to shop on the High Street again and support independent shops with a boost that's desperately needed."
Image source, Getty ImagesA man and a woman walk their dog in Vancouver
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has warned of a third wave of coronavirus infections sweeping the country.
"Around the world, countries are facing a very serious third wave of this pandemic," Trudeau tells a news conference. "And right now, so is Canada."
Hospitalisations are rising rapidly and intensive care beds are filling up as variants spread, he warns.
Canada has averaged almost 5,200 new coronavirus cases per day over the past week.
Ontario - the nation's most populous province - was put into a limited lockdown over the weekend, but some local health officials are calling for stronger restrictions.
More than 23,000 Canadians have lost their lives to the virus.
Image source, Getty ImagesDiscussions about a possible link between the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots are continuing.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says people should listen to medical regulators and keep getting their jabs.
But some EU countries recently paused the rollout of the vaccine amid concerns. And as we've told you in the past half hour, a trial of the vaccine on children has been paused while those behind it await more information from UK regulator the MHRA.
Regulators are carrying out a review into reports that a very small number of recently-immunised people suffered an extremely rare form of blood clot, called a cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT).
In the UK, 30 people have developed the clots - and seven have died as a result - out of 18 million people who have received the vaccine.
Regulators and experts say the benefits of the jab outweigh the risks, and no link has been established.
Read more here.
Samba Cyuzuzo
BBC Great Lakes
Footage of Rwandan newlyweds and family guests forced to spend their wedding night in a stadium for breaching coronavirus rules has sparked criticism.
Spending the evening at a stadium "on my wedding day is a bad memory that will never fade in my life", one bride has told the BBC anonymously.
"Inflicting pain and shaming people like this doesn't make us fear corona or observe measures."
Police in the capital, Kigali, had stopped at least three weddings over the Easter weekend because they exceeded the maximum of 20 attendees.
A police spokesperson told Rwandan media "more people doing parties are violating the measures", and police wouldn't allow it to continue.
Some people online said police were "now going too far" by unlawfully holding people for hours at night in stadiums, while others praised officers for taking action to "keep them safe”.
Clarisse Karasira, a Rwandan music star, tweeted "this act lacks humanity", and said it was "an eternal pain to the couple and their children".
Rwanda’s response to Covid-19 has been praised internationally, but activists and opposition have deplored deep human rights violations in the process.
The country has recorded more than 22,000 cases of Covid-19 and 311 deaths.
BBC Radio 5 Live
The boss of the relaunched Thomas Cook holiday brand has told the BBC vaccine passports could be welcomed by the travel industry if it means foreign travel can open up again.
The 179-year-old Thomas Cook Group collapsed in 2019, but was resurrected as an online-only travel agent last year.
Its chief executive, Alan French, earlier today told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up to Money: “I think the vaccine passport does look like it’s going to be part of the tool set that allows people to travel.
“I can see within the travel business the passport being a player.
“At the moment, the travel industry’s having to react very flexibly. If the vaccination passport can help in any way, that would be helpful for us,” he said.
Image source, Getty ImagesThomas Cook Group collapsed in 2019 but was relaunched as an online travel agent last year.
He has joined other travel industry voices calling on the government for greater clarity.
"For us, the signals are positive, but the details as to how people can travel are missing," he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is "hopeful" foreign travel can begin again on 17 May.
French says he's “looking forward” to an industry report from the government's Global Travel Taskforce, external due to be published next Monday, which is expected to recommend measures designed to facilitate the return of international tourism as quickly as possible.
Anna Collinson
Health Correspondent
The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine trial on children and teenagers has been paused while the UK regulator investigates whether there's a possible link with rare blood clots in adults.
Prof Andrew Pollard from Oxford University has told the BBC while there are no safety concerns with the trial itself, the paediatric clinical trial will not give any further vaccinations while they await for additional information from the MHRA.
Participants in the trial are advised to continue to attend all scheduled visits and can contact the trial sites if they have any questions.
About 300 volunteers signed up for the trial which started in February.
Researchers are assessing whether the jab produces a strong immune response in children aged between six and 17. Updates from the European Medicines Agency and the MHRA are expected in the coming days.
Image source, PA MediaThe number of patients in hospital in England with Covid-19 has dropped to its lowest level for six months, figures show.
A total of 2,588 patients were in hospital at 08:00 BST, according to figures from NHS England.
This is the lowest since the number was 2,435 on 4 October, and is down 92% from a record 34,336 on 18 January.
During the first wave of the virus, patient numbers peaked at 18,974 on 12 April.
Hospital admissions in England of patients with Covid-19 are at their lowest level for nearly seven months, with 156 admissions reported on Sunday, 4 April.
This is the lowest since 153 on 13 September and is down 96% from the peak on 12 January.
The fall in patients and admissions reflects the combined impact of the lockdown and vaccines in helping reduce the number of infections that need hospital treatment.
Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent
All medicines, from vaccines to paracetamol, have the potential to cause severe side effects.
The seasonal flu jab has about a one-in-a-million chance of causing the nerve disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The key question is whether the risks are worth the benefits.
Even if the vaccine was the cause, and this is still not proven, the numbers suggest about one death in every 2.5 million people vaccinated in the UK.
For everyone over the age of 75 infected there is one death per eight Covid infections.
For those in their 40s it is one death per 1,000.
On the face of it, the risk-benefit ratio is clearly in favour of vaccination if you assume you are going to be infected at some point.
But what is needed now is more information about who has been suffering from these rare blood clots. How old are they? Do they have any underlying health conditions that could explain what happened?
This will help narrow down the scale of any potential risks.
An update from the UK regulator - as well as the European one - is expected in the coming days.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe United States is further ramping up its vaccination programme, which has accelerated since Joe Biden took office in January.
The Biden administration says all adults will be eligible for a jab by 19 April - almost two weeks earlier than the previous target.
President Biden is expected to speak about the vaccination effort later today.
White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, tells reporters: "The president will announce officially later this afternoon that we've reached 150 million shots in arms since entering government and that by 19 April all adult Americans will be eligible to get the vaccine.
"That doesn't mean they will get it that day, it means they can join the line that day if they have not already done that beforehand."
Chris Mason
Political Correspondent
The process of unlocking society confronts us with a dilemma that will mould the politics of the coming months: what is, simultaneously, epidemiologically safe and yet ethically, practically and politically possible?
Having to prove you're not contagious - because you've been jabbed, tested or have immunity - is the very essence of this debate, because without that, argue some, how can social distancing be abandoned in the summer, while providing reassurance that is safe?
The government calls its exploration of this idea "Covid status certification." But critics, including about 40 Conservative MPs, think it reeks of a "papers, please" society; an ID card in all but name.
Ministers acknowledge the idea raises ethical issues. It raises colossal practical ones too: the NHS has been asked to look into what ministers call a "digital and non-digital route" to demonstrating your Covid status. An app and a scrap - of paper - in other words.
The Covid Recovery Group of Conservative MPs said today the idea would "lead to a two-tier Britain entirely incompatible with freedom".
And Labour are sceptical too.
The first ministers of Scotland and Wales have expressed a cautious openness to the idea of a domestic Covid certificate. Northern Ireland's Health Minister says he doesn't support them.
Egyptian authorities have launched an investigation after the body of a coronavirus victim was dug up from a grave and then burnt.
According to local media, the remains were those of a hospital nurse who had died of the disease in Helwan, south of Cairo.
Such is the stigma surrounding the virus in Egypt there have been reports of some communities being very reluctant to allow its victims to be buried in their cemeteries.
In April last year, 23 people were arrested for blocking the burial of a doctor who reportedly died with coronavirus.
The group were believed to have feared a body buried with the virus could spread it.
One of the positive impacts of lockdown is that there has been a big reduction in light pollution.
A nationwide star count found a 10% drop in the amount of people who could only see 10 or fewer stars, an indicator of severe light pollution.
Light pollution can impact human health and wildlife by disturbing biological cycles and behaviours.
The BBC's Justin Rowlatt visited the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland, an area that benefits from some of the darkest skies in England, to explore the impact of having less light pollution.
Image source, PA MediaThree in five UK adults have received a first dose of a coronavirus jab, the health secretary says.
Some 31,622,367 have received a first vaccine, with 5,496,716 people now fully vaccinated thanks to a second dose - 10.4% of the adult population.
Matt Hancock says it is "fantastic" news and has tweeted his thanks to "everyone involved in the vaccine rollout", saying "we're making great strides in our national effort".
More than 37 million jabs have been given in the UK - 31.6 million first doses and just under 5.5 million second
Image source, Getty ImagesThe president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has been vaccinated with the Chinese coronavirus jab, Sinopharm, in an attempt to encourage reluctant Serbians to follow suit.
A poor uptake prompted the government last month to invite in foreigners to get inoculated. Several thousand Bosnians took up the offer.
A similar number marched through the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Tuesday in protest at their own government's failure to secure enough doses - fewer than 200,000 for a population of 3.5 million.
Critics say Serbia's apparent generosity was a sign of its desire to restore its regional dominance, and that the Russian and Chinese vaccines on offer have not been approved for use in Europe.
Image source, Getty ImagesThousands took to the streets in Sarajevo
Meanwhile, in Slovakia fresh doubts have been raised about a controversial stock of Russian vaccine.
The drug regulator has reportedly found the unused batch is different from the Sputnik vaccine reviewed by the medical magazine the Lancet.
Slovakia PM Igor Matovic resigned last week over the furore caused by his decision to buy the stock without consultation.
You can see from these graphs hospitalisations and new Covid cases continue to decline in the UK.
You can also see the shift in the government's vaccine rollout to focus on second doses, with more of these now being given than first jabs.
Image source, Lucero GlowRappers A1 and J1 didn't know each other before meeting on Houseparty
Remember awkwardly entering different rooms on Houseparty, when the video chat app took off during the first Covid lockdown?
For rappers A1 and J1, that interaction has been life-changing.
Without it they would have no viral fame, no collaboration with 2020 Brit Award nominee Aitch, and no song reaching number two in the charts.
"For me, it's just a blessing the position we're in," 15-year-old A1 tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.
The pair didn't know each other before meeting on Houseparty during lockdown in March 2020.
The artists now have 2.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, with fans including the likes of KSI and Aitch.
"We didn't know it was going to do this well. And then it just started taking off," J1, 17, says.
Read more on how their collaboration came about here.