The Welsh NHS is under "substantial pressure" as services return to pre-pandemic levels, its chief executive has warned.

Dr Andrew Goodall says the need to continue with Covid-19 precautions means a "difficult combination" of factors was straining the system.

Monthly waiting times will be published on Thursday, amid a growing backlog of patients waiting for treatment.

One doctors' group has called for a radical reorganisation of services.

Data from March shows there are 568,367 people on waiting lists in Wales, up 24.4% on the same time last year.

You can read more on this story here.

Image source, PA Media

At the start of 2021, festival organisers were optimistic. But as the year has progressed, the summer season has collapsed in slow motion.

Now musician Peter Gabriel has told the BBC that Womad festival, which he co-founded, may have to be cancelled too, unless it gets support from the government.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Gabriel says: "If we're trying to restore cultural life and normality then we do need a bit of help here.

"It's a huge industry now and we would like to get some confidence and security from something like an insurance scheme, some sort of underwriting scheme."

Asked whether he's likely to cancel the festival this year if support isn't forthcoming, he says: "I think we have to. We've been faced with bankruptcy on two occasions previous to that and if we're trying to secure the future of the festival... we can't risk sinking it this year."

However, on the same programme, Treasury minister Jesse Norman says "an enormous amount of money" has already been poured into the arts during the pandemic "so it's important to recognise what has already been done".

Pressed if the underwriting insurance will be considered, Norman says: "Of course the government continues to monitor the way in which restrictions are playing out, and this is a matter for discussion, as the culture secretary has said, it's a matter for the sector to address with him."

our music reporter Mark Savage has written more on the future of festivals, including what's on, what's cancelled, and what's in the balance, here.

Concerns about the health of the Ganges river in India have existed for some time.

Now a new environmental crisis is looming for the country’s most important water source.

Hundreds of bodies have been buried in shallow graves along the banks of the river, near Prayagraj (also known as Allahabad) in northern India.

With the monsoon season about to hit, it is feared that many of these bodies will end up in the river.

Reporting: Rupa Jha Video journalist: Neha Sharma

Image source, Reuters

Yesterday, the BBC was told that a decision to vaccinate all 12 to 17-year-old children against Covid is unlikely to be recommended by UK vaccine experts imminently.

A statement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is expected in the coming days, and the government will then make its decision on the matter.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, a senior doctor in Israel - where adolescent children are being vaccinated - explains why his country feels it is a necessary step to take.

"It's going constantly but quite slowly," says Dr Asher Salmon, deputy director general at the Israeli Health Ministry. "Many parents are still hesitating and waiting for more data."

He says that myocarditis, a "rare adverse event" that involves inflammation of the heart, is a potential concern with regards to the Pfizer vaccine and young men, but argues the risk appears small and vaccinating young people is necessary to "create an effective herd immunity of our societies".

"If we leave around 20 or 30% of our population unvaccinated we always have the risk of a new explosion of cases," he says - adding that "it may start in kids" but will eventually reach people in "high risk groups".

Asked if he believes vaccinating children is needed to achieve herd immunity, Dr Salmon replies: "We think so. Nobody really knows what is the exact line for herd immunity regarding Covid-19, we don't even know if we can use the term 'herd immunity' - but on an effective level it seems that we need to vaccinate more than 70% of our population."

What's that? You don't wake up each morning and study the day's coronavirus news agenda? Don't worry, we've created this handy guide for you:

0930 - The Office for National Statistics releases data on the impact of Covid on higher education students in England - and estimates of positive Covid results after vaccinations

1100 - Weekly NHS Test and Trace figures for England are released

1200 - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon faces questions on Covid and other subjects from MSPs

1315 - House of Lords debate on the case for urgent levelling up of opportunities available to UK children affected by the pandemic

1330 - Westminster Hall debate on the value of vitamin D as a coronavirus defence

1400 - Public Health England publishes weekly data on Covid and NHS England publishes weekly vaccination figures for EnglandWe'll bring you the most interesting lines from these events throughout the day.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The picture presented by React is one from 10 days ago. But if we look at the daily figures published by the government, there are some encouraging signs, albeit it very tentative.

Last week, cases appeared to be doubling every 10 days - but this week, that has slowed to something closer to 14 days.

It still means the epidemic is growing - but it is the first sign of a flattening of cases.

This, of course, could be a false dawn. The rise in infections has largely been driven by north-west England - the top 20 local-authority areas with the highest rates are all in that region.

Infections could easily take off in other areas, speeding up the growth of this wave.

But if this slowing of growth holds, it is very positive.

Government scientists had feared rapid growth right up to 19 July.

This would drive up hospital admissions, albeit, because of the vaccines, at a lower rate than in previous waves.

It is still early days, but data is now a little more encouraging than it was.

Image source, Reuters

Our top story this morning is that a study suggests the Covid epidemic in England is growing - with much of the growth being driven by younger age groups not yet immunised.

The analysis, from the React-1, external study, looked at the period 20 May to 7 June.

But tentative signs in the latest daily data, external suggest growth may be beginning to slow.

The rollout of jabs to younger people is key to reducing further spread, researchers from Imperial College London say.

The team, which since last year has been inviting a representative sample of the population to take Covid swab tests, found:

• of the 108,911 people tested, 135 were positive - a rise from 0.1% to 0.15%

• most cases were among five- to 12-year-olds and 18- to 24-year-olds

• the reproduction (R) number, of people the average infected person would infect, was an estimated 1.44

You can read the full story here.

Image source, Reuters

As of this morning, wearing masks is no longer compulsory in France outdoors, apart from in queues, markets, public transport and other situations involving crowds. Prime Minister Jean Castex said France was in a happy moment that meant returning to a kind of return to normal life. France’s overnight curfew, currently starting at 23:00, will end on Sunday.

The Moscow region in Russia has made vaccinations compulsory for all service sector workers as the capital faces what the mayor calls a dramatic situation. That means, by 15 July, 60% of all employees working in education, healthcare, entertainment and hospitality must have their first vaccinations. The rise in cases is linked to the Delta variant that originated in India.

Spain’s 14-day incidence rate has fallen below 100 people per 100,000 for the first time since last August. But some regions such as Andalucia and the Basque country continue to have higher rates.

EU ambassadors have agreed to lift Covid restrictions on travellers from the US, ahead of a busy summer season. Any member state can impose restrictions including PCR tests or quarantine. Other states added to the EU’s white list include Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Lebanon.

Serbian music festivals say they've been given the go-ahead this summer. But festival goers will have to be vaccinated, tested or recovered from Covid. One of the big ones, Exit festival, starts on 8 July.

The German Curevac vaccine has had disappointing clinical results, reporting only 47% effectiveness in late-stage trials. It’s blamed the large number of variants in circulation.

Europe’s car industry says new car registrations have surged across the continent in the past month, indicating a strong recovery in the car market. More than a million new passenger cars were registered in the EU, UK and member states of the European Free Trade Associations.

As ever, we like to start the day with a look at the papers and many of Thursday's front pages focus on Dominic Cummings' release of text messages from Boris Johnson criticising Health Secretary Matt Hancock for his performance during the pandemic.

The Metro calls, external the former Downing Street adviser's blog-post a "nuclear Dom", while the Guardian quotes, external a former colleague of Mr Cummings, saying that he is "determined to bring down the prime minister" and intent on carrying out a sustained campaign to highlight high-level incompetence.

The Daily Mirror asks, external why Mr Hancock still has a job given the criticism and the large numbers of deaths during the pandemic. The Daily Star, external takes an irreverent view, summing up the affair as "hopeless bloke said hopeless bloke was hopeless, says hopeless bloke".

You can read the full paper review here and we'll update you with any further fallout on this topic as it happens.

Good morning and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here are the main headlines this morning:

• Scientists tracking the Covid epidemic in England say it is growing - with much of it being driven by younger age groups not yet immunised
• However, tentative signs in the latest daily data, external suggest growth may be beginning to slow
• Lockdown restrictions in England will be extended by up to four weeks as expected after MPs backed the government in a Commons vote by 461 to 60 last night
• It means the regulations can stay in place until 19 July, despite the large Tory rebellion
• The Welsh NHS is under "substantial pressure" as services return to pre-pandemic levels, its chief executive has warned
• Many African countries are facing a "growing crisis" of severe oxygen shortages which is leading to preventable deaths, international health agencies have warned