The Indian variant is being carefully watched amid concerns over its spread in the UK
The government is "anxious" about the variant and "ruling nothing out" in response, PM Boris Johnson says
People aged 18 and over in parts of Lancashire will be offered vaccines due to concerns about variant levels
A record high of 4.95 million people were waiting to start hospital treatment at the end of March 2021, according to NHS England
More than 436,000 people had to wait more than 52 weeks to start hospital treatment in March 2021 - compared with 3,097 in March 2020
Spectators could be allowed at outdoor sports events in Northern Ireland from 24 May, the BBC understands
The Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City has been moved from Istanbul to Porto because of Covid restrictions
That's all from the live page team - Alex Therrien, Becky Morton, James Clarke, Jennifer Meierhans and Vanessa Barford.
Thanks for joining us, have a good evening and we will have more updates for you tomorrow.
We are going to be winding down our coronavirus live page so here's a reminder of the stories of the day:
Image source, Getty ImagesAn estimated 82.1% of people classified as clinically extremely vulnerable had received both doses of coronavirus vaccine by 9 May, according to NHS England figures.
The proportion of people aged 16 to 64 in an "at-risk group" or who are unpaid carers to have received a second jab by this date was 32.2%, the data suggests.
People are identified as at risk or a carer in a number of ways, including through GP records, those receiving carer's allowance or on the GP Learning Disability Register, and those identified as unpaid carers by local authorities, NHS England said.
Meanwhile, an estimated 90.2% of frontline NHS trust staff in England had been given both doses of coronavirus vaccine by May 9, NHS England figures suggest.
The data only represents those NHS trust healthcare workers who appear in the NHS electronic staff record (ESR) covering all directly-employed staff in NHS trusts, with the exception of Chesterfield Royal NHS Foundation Trust.
It does not include data on agency staff and NHS bank staff that are not paid through the ESR, NHS England added.
People included in these figures may also have been counted as being part of the same, or another high-priority group, it added.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe coronavirus outbreak in Moray - which has the highest case rates of any region in Scotland - is showing "signs of improvement", NHS Grampian has said.
A surge of cases in the area has seen the infection rate rise to more than 98 cases per 100,000 - well above the 50-case threshold to move to level two of restrictions.
Mainland Scotland is due to move to level two on Monday, allowing different households to meet indoors, but First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said Moray is likely to remain in level three.
The culture secretary has said that he is more confident “with every passing day” that arts and sports venues in England will be able to fully reopen on the 21 June.
However, Oliver Dowden told the Commons Culture Committee he could not yet give “full assurance” that the last stage in the roadmap for easing lockdown would be met.
He also dismissed calls for a taxpayer-backed indemnity scheme, but suggested that if events have to be cancelled due to a lack of insurance, the government would look at intervening.
Under the plans for easing restrictions in England, all legal limits on social contact are due to be lifted on 21 June.
But some large events that had been planned for the summer, such as festivals, have already cancelled their events, saying they were unable to get coronavirus insurance and they could not continue to spend money without this safety net.
People need to "stop panicking" every time a new coronavirus variant is identified in the UK, a leading scientist has said, amid concern about the growing number of cases of the Indian variant.
Professor Robert Dingwall, who is a member of the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group, said that while the Indian variant may be capable of becoming the dominant variant in the UK, the risk of a surge in deaths or hospital admissions remains low.
Prof Dingwall, of the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University, told the PA news agency: "This variant seems to be better managed by the vaccines than the South African variant so that vaccinated people have only a very low risk of infection that is likely to be mild."
The Indian variant of coronavirus is causing concern over its spread in the UK.
But it is just one of the many thousands of different versions, or variants, of Covid-19 circulating around the world.
Scientists are looking at tweaking the coronavirus vaccines to make sure they continue to be highly effective.
But where are these variants coming from? Why do viruses mutate? And when does a variant become a variant of concern?
Health correspondent Laura Foster and virologist Dr Cindy Duke explain.
Covid India variant: What is a variant of concern?
James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News
The variant that was first detected in India, which may spread more quickly, is causing mounting concern.
Numbers are relatively low, but they are rising and the planned unlocking from Monday in England would accelerate that spread.
Meanwhile the hugely successful vaccination campaign is not yet complete.
So the worry is there is still the possibility of a surge in cases and, because the vaccines are not perfect, a rise in the numbers in hospital. This would be much smaller than it would have been without vaccination.
The other issue is the number of confirmed cases tells us what happened one-to-two weeks ago - due to the delay between someone catching the virus, it causing symptoms and then being confirmed as B.1.617.2.
One of the four tests for the roadmap out of lockdown has always been the role of new variants.
The key question is whether local approaches in variant hotspots – such as expanded testing and vaccination – would be enough, or if there needs to be a change to the overall plan.
Nearly two thirds of people in Wales are estimated to have antibodies to help protect them against Covid-19.
The latest survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS),, external which took blood samples from nearly 1,000 people in Wales, estimated that 63.2% have antibodies present.
The graphic below shows how this figure rises for older age groups up to an estimated 90% of those over 80.
Presence of antibodies suggest people have either had the virus already or, in most cases, had a vaccine.
You can find more detail on the survey here.
Image source, PacemakerFans will be able to attend the Irish Cup Final
Spectators will be allowed to attend outdoor sports events in Northern Ireland from 24 May, the BBC has been told.
The Northern Ireland Executive has been meeting to agree which lockdown restrictions can be lifted.
It is understood ministers have agreed up to 500 fans can attend outdoor sport events from 24 May.
However, up to 1,000 spectators will be allowed to attend the Irish Cup final on 21 May.
From 24 May, schools will also be allowed to play sports fixtures against each other and libraries and museums can reopen, while the stay local message will end.
Indoor hospitality will be permitted to resume from 24 May - with mitigations - and indoor sports training will be allowed to restart for sports squads.
Plans to ease restrictions on 24 May will be subject to final approval on 21 May.
A total of 54,797,640 coronavirus vaccines have been given in the UK, according to the government's daily figures., external
That's 35,906,671 first doses and 18,890,969 second doses.
You can find out when you'll get your jabs here.
There have been a further 11 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK, according to the government's daily figures., external
This brings the total number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test to 127,651.
There were also 2,657 new infections recorded in the last 24 hours.
Image source, Getty ImagesSurge testing has already been introduced in some parts of the UK to help curb the spread of the variant first found in India.
Cases have been detected in a number of areas of England including:
There are also at least 12 cases of the Indian variant in Northern Ireland, although officials have not confirmed exactly where they are.
In Scotland, there are around 20-30 cases and the variant is suspected to be spreading in Glasgow, although this has yet to be confirmed.
Cases have also been found in Wales.
Anxiety is growing about a coronavirus variant, first identified in India, that appears to be spreading in the UK.
The concern is that certain new variants of the virus, like this one, may be able to spread more easily, make people sicker, or overpower vaccines.
There are a few "India" variants, but one called B.1.617.2 appears to be spreading more quickly than the other two in the UK.
There is currently insufficient evidence to indicate it causes more severe disease or might make current vaccines less effective, say UK officials.
But the UK government has a deal with biopharmaceutical company CureVac, external to develop vaccines against future variants, and has pre-ordered 50 million doses.
Depending on how variants continue to develop, these could potentially be used to offer a booster vaccine to older or clinically vulnerable people later in the year.
Image source, Getty ImagesIf you were in two minds about getting your coronavirus jab, would the chance of winning a big cash prize sway you?
The US state of Ohio is giving five people $1m (£710,000) each for getting their Covid-19 vaccines.
It's part of a lottery launched to boost flagging take-up of jabs.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine says the weekly draws will be paid for by coronavirus relief funds from the federal government.
The US has given 58.7% of its adult population jabs against the disease.
President Joe Biden says he wants to vaccinate 70% of adults by 4 July - American Independence Day.
But, for weeks now, the number of vaccines administered has been in decline nationwide. Health officials have attributed this to hesitancy among some Americans.
To convince the undecided, eye-catching giveaways - including beer, donuts, tickets to sporting events and cash prizes - are being offered in different parts of the country.
Image source, PA MediaEnglish Heritage staff at Durbar room at Osborne on the Isle of Wight are among those preparing for the reopening of England's visitor attractions on Monday
If you're just joining us or need a recap of the day's coronavirus news - here's what we've been talking about so far.
Image source, ReutersState governments in India are trying to buy coronavirus vaccines worth billions of dollars on the international market as locally-manufactured supplies run short.
The most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, said it had been talking to firms including Pfizer.
State authorities have had to curtail their ambitious vaccination plans amid the record surge in infections.
It is not clear how soon manufacturers could supply India, with demand for vaccines remaining high.
India has been vaccinating its population with the AstraZeneca jab, produced under licence in the country, and the domestically made Covaxin - but their current rate of production is well below demand.
The country has only fully vaccinated 3% of its 1.3 billion people.
Image source, ReutersThe Pfizer/Biontech vaccine was approved in the UK on Wednesday
As we reported earlier, all adults will be offered Covid jabs in parts of Lancashire where there's been a spike in cases of the Indian coronavirus variant.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has told us they're holding a meeting later and will release more details of the vaccination programme afterwards.
A spokeswoman said: "The council and NHS partners have secured extra doses of the Covid-19 vaccine that will be made available to anyone in Blackburn with Darwen aged over 18 from next week."
It comes as No 10 says it has not ruled out surge vaccinations as a way to deal with the rise of the Indian variant.
Here's everything we know about the situation in Blackburn so far.
Image source, ReutersThe world could be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of March next year, according to the body that represents the biggest pharmaceutical companies.
Thomas Cueni, who is director general of the Swiss-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) estimates global Covid vaccine manufacturing capacity will be 10 billion by the end of this year and that the world will have more vaccines than it needs by next year.
Separately, he says waiving patent protection - as suggested by the US - would not lead to a short-term increase in global vaccine production because there are bottlenecks when it comes to securing the necessary raw materials such as glass vials.
Too many new manufacturers coming on stream would simply lead to an even greater shortage of raw materials, he says.
You can use our Covid vaccine tracker to compare the roll-out of jabs around the world.
Image source, Getty ImagesCovid-19 case rates have increased slightly across most regions of England, according to the latest weekly surveillance report from Public Health England.
In the North West the rate was 32.6 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 9 May, up from 25.5 the previous week, while in the East Midlands it increased from 23.1 to 29.8.
Slight increases were also recorded in the East of England, London and the North East.
The South West had the lowest rate at 13.1, up from 12.2.
Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the highest rate at 40.5 cases per 100,000 people, down slightly from 42.5 in the previous week.
You can see how many cases there are in your area here.