Alison Roberts
Portugal Correspondent, Lisbon

Image source, Getty Images

Portugal today begins a new 15-day state of emergency that President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says he hopes will be its last, as most of the country prepares to move ahead with further easing of its coronavirus lockdown from Monday.

The state of emergency, which will last until the end of the month, allows the government to implement measures such as curfews and quarantine.

In regions where the coronavirus infection rate remains low, however, restrictions are being eased next week.

Shopping centres will be able to open and cafés and restaurants to serve up to four people at tables indoors and up to six outdoors.

Sports activities deemed to be of medium risk - such as handball and basketball - may resume and groups of up to six may engage in other physical exercise outdoors.

Portugal currently has the lowest infection rate in the European Union, according to figures released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), at 68 per 100,000 of population over a 14 day period.

However, health experts in the country warn that the gradual relaxation of lockdown rules could lead to a significant jump in coronavirus cases within weeks.

If the rate breaches the threshold of 120 per 100,000 set by the government as a limit for halting or reversing lockdown easing, measures may need to be reapplied.

In four municipalities the infection rate is over 240, and restrictions mean that all but a handful of non-essential shops and services have to close and cafés and restaurants are back to takeaways and home deliveries only.

All school pupils returned to the classroom this week as part of a staggered return that began in February.

Secondary school students are expected to wear face coverings and lateral flow - or rapid - testing is available to older children.

Pupils at Pen Y Dre High School in Gurnos, Merthyr Tydfil, spoke to the BBC about how they were getting on.

As we've been reporting this morning, people in Scotland are today enjoying new freedoms when it comes to travel and meeting up with people as lockdown restrictions are eased.

As a reminder, people can now travel out of their local council area for non-essential reasons and for six people from up to six households to meet up outdoors.

But people are not allowed to stay overnight outside their council area - even in a tent or caravan.

When meeting outdoors, people are advised to minimise meetings, maintain 2m distancing and "use common sense".

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith told Good Morning Scotland that people may be uncertain about using another household's toilet during a meet up - but that "pragmatism" was important.

He said: "Of course there might be a risk going into someone's house but if people are very, very careful and they make sure they're taking precautions - washing their hands afterwards - nipping in to use someone's toilet is not something I think anyone would frown on.

"What we don't want to see is people using that as an excuse to nip inside for cup of tea with people and sitting in unventilated areas. It's the ventilation aspect that's really, really important just now.

"We know at this point of time in the year with the circulating virus, that outdoors environment where we've got that free circulating air is a much much safer environment for people to be meeting in."

Image source, Reuters

It is unlikely that the European Union (EU) will continue to purchase the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccines next year, a French official says.

Industry Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher tells radio station BFMTV that while no formal decision had yet been made, "it is highly probable" that no further doses would be ordered.

"We have not started talks with Johnson & Johnson or with AstraZeneca for a new contract, but we have started talks with Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna," she says.

The EU said earlier this week that is was temporarily stopping the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson jab after reports of rare blood clotting.

Then, Denmark became the first European country to fully cease using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine amid similar concerns about rare cases of blood clots.

Several other European countries had previously briefly suspended the jab.

Most have now resumed vaccinations with AstraZeneca, but often with limits to older age groups.

Drug watchdog the European Medicines Agency last week announced a possible link between the vaccine and clots, but said the risk of dying of Covid-19 was much greater.

• What you need to know about vaccine safety

Daniel Holland
Local Democracy Reporter

A project set up in Newcastle to identify Covid cases among key workers showing no symptons is being reduced at two sites in the city, because not enough people are coming forward.

Take up for rapid-turnaround lateral flow tests, at the Newcastle Civic Centre and Westgate College sites, has “consistently remained well below the available capacity”.

The council says an estimated 7,500 tests have been conducted across the two sites so far, roughly 800 per week – 85% short of the maximum capacity of 5,200 per week.

Both venues will now see the number of days they're open reduced.

A testing facility in the civic centre’s banqueting hall will open from 08:00-16:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the Westgate College site will operate from 08:00-16:00 on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Last week the government announced everyone in England can now get two lateral flow tests a week, which can provide results in just half an hour, every week regardless of their job or whether they have Covid symptoms.

The testing kits are now available via home delivery or collection, as well as through school and workplace testing and community testing offered by councils.

Image source, PA Media

Job vacancies have continued to increase as the economy has started to reopen from coronavirus restrictions, new research by UK recruiters suggests.

About 140,000 new jobs were advertised in the week to 11 April, creating a total of 1.37 million, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said.

This was in addition to 181,000 in the previous week, which was the highest weekly figure since the pandemic began, the recruiters said.

The beginning of March saw the best three weeks for new job adverts.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the REC, said: "The busy barbers and pub gardens this week are a sign that large sections of our economy are getting going again, and this growing confidence is reflected in hiring activity."

He said an increase in demand for hospitality roles after pubs and restaurants reopened outdoors this week was "particularly welcome news".

"With the vaccine rollout on schedule, businesses are increasingly confident this positive trend will continue," he added.

"That will unlock investment, and with it new jobs."

However, Carberry warned that not every industry or area of the UK would recover at the "same rate", and many people would need help finding a new job or moving into a different industry.

Image source, Reuters

Australia is considering prioritising athletes for vaccinations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics planned for July and August.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is reportedly in talks with the government about allowing more than 400 Australian participants of the games and hundreds more support staff to jump the queue.

"The government is in direct contact with the AOC over its proposal to priority vaccinate all Olympic team athletes and support staff," sports minister Richard Colbeck told broadcaster ABC.

Australia's vaccine rollout has been delayed after regulators advised limiting use of the AstraZeneca shot - the country's main vaccine - following reports of a rare blood clot risk.

Australia began its inoculation programme in February, later than many nations due to its low infection rates.

It is in the second stage of a five-stage rollout, where the dose is being offered to more vulnerable sections of the population.

Most athletes would fall into the fourth phase - labelled by the government as Phase 2b, which covers the "balance of adult population" ahead of the final stage, for those aged 16 and under.

The government has previously pledged to have all Australians vaccinated with at least one dose by October. A revised target has not been set.

The Tokyo Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from 23 July to 8 August 2021.

The Paralympics follow the Olympics a month later, from 24 August.

There have been calls to postpone or cancel the Games amid the spread of coronavirus, but Japan's Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto has today said the country is committed to holding them this summer.

Since 9 April, anyone in England has been allowed to order a free lateral flow device (LFD) Covid test kit from a local testing site, pharmacy, or through the post.

Millions of people are being encouraged to take two lateral flow tests - which deliver a result in about 30 minutes - a week.

But what are the risks and the benefits?

The government says , externalone in three people with coronavirus do not have any symptoms, so could be unknowingly spreading the infection to others.

The ONS found that in March , externalthe figure was higher, with almost half of infected people having no symptoms.

Lateral flow - also known as rapid testing - will pick up some of these people.

There is relatively little evidence on how well rapid tests detect Covid-19 in real world settings.

When mass testing was introduced in Liverpool last year researchers carried out a study , externalin which 5,869 people had both a lateral-flow test and a PCR test.

Seventy of those people were positive from the PCR tests. Of those 70, only 28 were positive on the lateral-flow tests - that's a 40% rate.

There was also a study at the University of Birmingham, external, where almost 8,000 students were given lateral-flow tests before they went home for the Christmas holiday.

Two of them were positive. But 10% of the group were retested with PCR tests, which found another six positive cases that had been missed by the rapid tests.

You can read more here.

The discovery of a new Covid-19 variant in the UK, which was first identified in India, features two mutations that could be a cause for concern, an expert has said.

Public Health England has reported that 73 cases of the B.1.617 variant have been confirmed in England, as well as four cases in Scotland.

The new variant has been classified as a Variant Under Investigation by PHE.

Prof Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, says the variant features two "escape mutations" - E484Q and L452R - that "are causing people to be concerned".

He adds: "There's laboratory evidence that both of these are escape mutations.

"Basically, applying what we know about other human coronaviruses would suggest that this is going to be even less controlled by vaccine.

"But we don't know that for certain at the moment."

Image source, EPA

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging the country's parliament to approve a new law obliging regional leaders to impose curfews and lockdowns once coronavirus infections exceed a certain level.

"Unfortunately I have to say it again today: the situation is serious, very serious and we all need to take it seriously," Merkel has said during a parliamentary session this morning.

She says the third wave has Germany "firmly in its grip" and healthcare workers are crying out for help.

"Intensive care workers are sending one distress call after the other - who are we to ignore their pleas?"

Merkel was heckled as she spoke by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which opposes lockdowns.

Supporters of the bill argue measures are needed now. They say by the time a final vote is taken next Wednesday, with upper house approval still to come, it will be too late.

Image source, WORN

A group of university students are calling for a day of action to demand tuition fee refunds because of how the pandemic has affected their learning experience.

The Write Off, Right Now (WORN) group, led by three University of Bristol students, wants 16 April to be used to apply pressure to the government.

It says online learning does not provide the same value for money and students should not be charged their full fees.

The government has said before fees must be paid in full for remote study.

University students in England have been told they will be allowed to return to face-to-face teaching - but no earlier than 17 May.

About a million students, taking courses taught online since Christmas, will be able to go back to university campuses.

Since the start of the year, only students on hands-on courses have been allowed in-person teaching.

Image source, WORN

The campaign's vice president Scott Weavers says it is "morally unfair" for students to have to pay their full fees when education in lockdown has been limited to "inadequate zoom lectures".

"We were promised when we signed up for university that we would receive sufficient access to facilities, course equipment and social contact to help us achieve our degrees.

"This year we have acquired anything but that standard, and yet we're still expected to pay full price," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Chile's Health Minister Enrique Paris has been striking a gloomy note at his daily Covid news conferences in recent days.

The number of daily cases reached a new record high on 9 April, going over 9,000 for the first time since the pandemic began and considerably higher than the previous peak of just under 7,000 cases in mid-June.

"It's worrying," he said last Friday. "We're going through a critical moment of the pandemic… I urge you to take care of yourselves, of your loved ones, of your families."

Intensive care units are again overwhelmed, the country has for a second time closed its borders to everyone who is not a resident and most of its 18 million inhabitants are back in lockdown.

The frustration and confusion many Chileans are feeling over the renewed lockdown is due partly to the fact that just two months ago, President Sebastián Piñera was boasting about Chile having one of the fastest vaccination rollouts in the world.

• Read more about this story here

Image source, Hospiscare

Lockdown has given people the chance to have a good clear out of unwanted items. In normal times, many turn to charity shops as a way of giving their goods a second life.

But during the coronavirus lockdown, charity shops were classed as non-essential so had to close.

There have been fears the pent-up demand to donate now shops are open could lead to overcrowding in shops and has prompted a trade organisation- Charity Retail Association - to urge people to call their local charity shop before dropping off any goods.

Now, Devon charity Hospiscare is echoing the trade association's call as it reveals it faces an annual bill of £32,000 to dispose of donated items it cannot sell.

Many of the donations are stained, spattered in paint and in one case a child's potty was soiled, the charity says.

Retail manager Helen Hutter says the "quite staggering" waste bill would pay for a senior nurse to care for the charity's patients.

She says checks such as making sure buttons are intact and clothes are without holes and "not splashed with paint" would help "save the charity money which could be spent on care".

The charity is urging donors to call one of its 18 shops first to discuss what they want to donate, and is restricting shop visits for donations to appointment only.

"If you wouldn't buy it, please could you dispose of it in your own bin," Helen says.

You can read more here.

Nick Thorpe, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has partially retreated from an earlier decision that all primary schools should restart from Monday 19 April.

Now only the first four classes will return, and that is also not compulsory.

The decision was made in response to public and expert concern over the move, as Hungary remains near the peak of the third wave of the pandemic.

Kindergartens, supposedly compulsory, currently have barely 10% attendance. About 10,000 people remain hospitalised - 1,100 on ventilators, while 241 have died in the past 24 hours.

Covid-19 is blamed for 24,500 deaths so far.

With vaccinations, Hungary is leading most EU countries. About 3.1 million people have received a first vaccination dose (32% of the population) and 1.3 million have had a second dose.

The outdoor spaces of restaurants and cafes are expected to reopen next Thursday, when first vaccinations reach 3.5 million. In total, 4.2 million people have registered for vaccination in the country.

The government is launching a new poster campaign to try to persuade the remaining 5.5 million to get on board.

People who obsessively worry about their health have often been dismissed at hypochondriacs. But for some, coronavirus has fuelled a rise in a debilitating mental health condition known as health anxiety.

In March 2020, Ben quit his job as a bus driver. Whenever he was off shift he couldn't stop thinking about how one of his passengers must have had Covid-19 and infected him.

Within a fortnight, Ben had moved out of his family home in Birmingham and into in an empty student house that his friends had left. "I kept thinking about being in a place where no-one was going in or out," he says.

Despite leaving home and quitting his job, his anxiety about getting infected still dominated his thoughts. Ben was experiencing health anxiety.

Image source, Cherelle Farrugia

"When people say it's just light anxiety - it almost took my life," says Cherelle Farrugia, from Cardiff, who runs a YouTube channel about living with health anxiety, external.

"When we first got told about this virus, it was just my worst nightmare," the 28-year-old says.

"I know everybody was inside but I couldn't even open my window. My partner would do the food shopping and I would sit there on the floor for an hour washing it. There was a real ritual over it."

Read more about Cherelle and Ben's stories here.

Image source, Reuters

People who receive the Pfizer Covid vaccine may require a third dose within 12 months of the initial inoculation, the head of the US drug company says.

"There will likely be a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months, and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination - but all of that needs to be confirmed," Pfizer's chief executive Albert Bourla tells CNBC, external.

"We need to see what would be the sequence, and for how often we need to do that, that remains to be seen," Bourla says, adding: "It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus."

Many approved vaccines, which teach our bodies to fight the infection and are part of the exit strategy from the pandemic, require two doses to provide the best protection.

But it is not yet clear how the efficacy of vaccines is affected over time.

Northern Ireland can begin rebuilding its economy under plans to ease Covid-19 restrictions from next week, says Economy Minister Diane Dodds.

The Stormont executive agreed reopening dates for some sectors yesterday, including hairdressers, non-essential retail and hospitality.

The current lockdown has been in place for more than 100 days in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Dodds tells the BBC precautions will still be needed to reopen businesses safely "but it does mean we can get on with opening our economy, recovering our economy".

She says growing the economy willd help to mitigate the fallout from the pandemic, including a potentially huge spike in unemployment.

Vikas Pandey
BBC News, Delhi

Accounts of people struggling to find a bed, or life-saving drugs or oxygen cylinders, are being reported all over India.

An example is Akhilesh Mishra, who developed a fever and a cough last Thursday and initially thought it was just the flu.

Akhilesh began to worry the next day, when his father Yogendra developed similar symptoms. The two men decided to get Covid RT-PCR tests done and tried to book a slot online - but the next available appointment was three days later.

They finally managed to get a slot on Sunday. In the meantime, Yogendra was running a very high fever and his doctor advised him to look for a hospital bed, which turned out to be another daunting task. They were turned away by many private hospitals in the city of Noida and also in the capital, Delhi.

The family finally managed to get a bed for him in a private hospital in Delhi and he is now recovering.

India has reported more than 150,000 Covid cases a day for the past three weeks.

The demand for medical oxygen has soared in several Indian states and several hospitals are turning patients away because they lack supplies.

In some cities, there is also a long waiting list at the crematoriums.

• Read more on this story here

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

It's been a big week for retail in England, with non-essential shops reopening for the first time in months on Monday in an easing of lockdown rules.

Shoppers have flocked to the High Street, with long queues seen outside some retailers.

So how do retailers and landlords think the reopening has gone?

Mark Bourgious is the UK Managing Director at the retail landlord Hammerson, which owns shopping centres including the Bullring in Birmingham.

He says it's been a "really encouraging start" after a "really tough year", with footfall up 60% in the past week compared with the the equivalent week after the June lockdown.

Bourgious tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think there's a number of things going on, people are feeling safer, the vaccination rollout is making a difference, and people have got more cash in their pocket, and they're feeling perhaps more confident to spend, and of course people love to get out..."

He adds, as a landlord, Hammerson has only collected 75% of rent from shop tenants in the course of the past year, which "reflects the challenging time" of the pandemic.

The firm has worked "collaboratively" with brands, he adds, agreeing rent abatements for those who need it, and "shared the pain" with others.

Bourgious says Hammerson is resetting rents to "more affordable levels", estimating it will reduce rents from the peak by about 30% across the board.

"We're doing our bit, as are all landlords to maintain occupancy, to maintain vibrancy in these centres," he adds.

Image source, Reuters

It has emerged a company in which Health Secretary Matt Hancock and his sister have shares has won contracts from NHS Wales.

The health service in Wales has given Topwood Ltd, which specialises in the secure storage, shredding and scanning of documents, £300,000 of business this year.

In March this year, Hancock declared in the MPs' register of interests he had acquired more than 15% of the shares of a company called Topwood Ltd.

But the register did not mention his sister Emily Gilruth owned a larger portion of the shares and is a director of the firm, or that Topwood has links to the NHS - as first reported by the Guido Fawkes blog , externaland Health Service Journal, external.

Public contract records show the NHS awarded Topwood a place in its Shared Business Services framework as a potential supplier for local NHS trusts in 2019, the year after Mr Hancock became health secretary.

Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth says it amounts to "cronyism at the heart of this government".

A government spokesman says Hancock acted "entirely properly" and there was no conflict of interest.

Matt Hancock has not yet had the opportunity to respond.