The use of Covid bubbles in England's schools, colleges and early year settings will end on 19 July
It is part of a whole range of relaxations in schools as the country moves towards lockdown easing
From 16 August, under-18s in England will no longer need to self-isolate after being in close contact with a positive case
Fully-vaccinated adults will also not have to self-isolate from then if they are a close contact of a case
Those who test positive themselves will still have to self-isolate whether they are vaccinated or not, though
The final lifting of England's restrictions is expected on 19 July, but it will be confirmed on 12 July after a review
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said new coronavirus cases “could go as high as 100,000” per day, after restrictions ease
England's cricket authorities will name a new squad for their one-day series after three players and four staff test positive
Germany is lifting a Covid-related travel ban on people from the UK and four other variant-hit countries
Gavin Williamson: Key restrictions on education will end
If you're here to catch up on Covid rules in schools - here's Education Secretary Gavin Williamson outlining the changes.
Image source, GettyWe've been hearing about plans from the education secretary, but in real school settings today, Covid-related pupil absence in England has hit a new high from when all students returned to school in March this year.
Over 640,000 pupils in England were not in school due to Covid last week - up from 375,000 the week before.
Of these, just 62,000 were confirmed or suspected Covid cases.
Image source, EPAAway from updates at Westminster now, and Russia says it has recorded its highest number of Covid-19 deaths in a single day since the start of the pandemic, with 737 deaths officially reported in the past 24 hours.
The country is facing a dramatic rise in new cases, which have more than doubled over the past month from 9,500 on 1 June to 23,378 registered today.
The actual number may be higher, as Russian authorities have faced accusations of under-reporting the statistics.
Even though Russia was the first country to register a vaccine against coronavirus (Sputnik V), only about 12% of its population has been fully vaccinated, and officials acknowledge that the rollout has been stalling.
Felicity Buchan MP says she understands testing will continue in secondary schools until the end of Septemer - when it will be reviewed.
She asks what criteria will be used, saying "I don't think any of us want to see testing in schools in perpetuity".
Williamson agrees, but says the government is sticking to a "cautious gradual approach" to avoid being in a position of having to reimpose rules.
He says it's a prudent and sensible step that needs to be taken and if there is a continued need for testing in schools then it will carry on.
He says: "The most important thing is to ensure schools remain open and that pupils are in those schools."
Labour MP Andrew Gwynne asks what can be done to help reduce inequalities which have been exacerbated during the Covid pandemic in education.
Gavin Williamson says that he shares this "passion" with Andrew Gwynne, adding that the quality of education you receive shouldn't depend on where you are born in the UK.
"The drive in terms of raising standards in education," he states, "is where the focus will be".
Dame Diana Johnson MP asks: "Is one hour of tutoring per fortnight enough to make up for the 115 days of in-school teaching children in Hull have missed this year?"
Williamson says: "I do recognise there has been a great amount of challenge, not just in Hull, but right across the country."
He says there is so much evidence to show that small group tutoring delivers some of the best educational catch-up and results, in terms of money invested, out of any intervention.
But, he says, the response is not just about tutoring. Schools have access to the recovering from Covid support [fund], so they can build on further actions.
Continuning the questions, Conservative MP Alexander Stafford notes that the government has provided 1.3m laptops and tablets to disadvantaged students across the country during the pandemic.
He asks the education secretary for assurance that these pupils will continue to benefit from record investment in IT equipment.
Williamson says amazing work was done by communities and the government to help children to learn at home during the pandemic and he very much hopes this will have "a long and lasting legacy in terms of bettering people's education".
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced the use of bubbles in schools will come to an end.
Here are the key points from his statement to MPs:
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson says "we know now about the importance of ventilation, because it's an airborne virus".
She asks what is being done to better support installation of ventilation in schools.
"At every stage during this pandemic we've supplied support for schools," replies Gavin Williamson, especially in measures designed to hamper Covid transmission.
He says the government continues to give advice to schools on how to stop transmission.
Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft says "many young people are extremely worried about next year's exams".
She says one young constituent says they have never felt less confident in their ability to take part in the 2022 GCSE exams.
She's asked for the exams to be "simpler easier and adapted to our lack of necessary education - out of compassion".
Williamson says the government will be looking at giving further guidance to schools "imminently" and looking at what mitigation measures can be put in place "but the best form of assessment is always examination".
Chair of the Education Committee Robert Halfon says some students facing GCSEs next year have missed one in four days from school this past year.
"It is our intention to move back to an exams system," Gavin Williamson replies, but he says there need to be mitigations in place to allow students to take exams.
He says information on this will be issued to schools before the end of the summer term.
Replying to the shadow education secretary Kate Green, Williamson says the government is always supporting universities in terms of international students and in getting back to face-to-face teaching, which he knows young people have missed.
He says Green has "missed the biggest point and the biggest thing that has actually changed over the last few months".
He says this is that in this country 80m vaccines have already been delivered into people's arms - giving them more protection than we had in March and April of this year.
The vaccine programme is "ensuring that we can take these important steps back to normality and both adults and most importantly children can get back on with their lives".
Image source, HoCShadow education secretary Kate Green pays tribute to education staff who have "done so much" to keep young people learning in the past year.
She says many parents will be "relieved" at the end of the bubble system, but she says people will not be reassured that the system replacing it is going to work.
She asks if summer schools will have mitigations in place to allow students to attend safely.
The MP also asks if schools will receive help from the government to increase ventilation, and wants to know why masks are no longer required even though case numbers continue to climb.
She also asks when schools and colleges will be made aware of assessment plans for the next academic year.
"I want nothing more" than for students to be in classrooms, "but we can't simply wish away the very real challenges of the pandemic," she adds.
Image source, HoCThe education secretary says there will be no restrictions on in-person teaching and learning in universities unless students are advised to isolate or are affected by local outbreaks.
It will not be necessary to stagger start and finish times for schools and colleges - although they can continue doing this until the end of summer term if they wish, he says.
Those under the age of 18 will no longer have to self-isolate if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace as having been near to someone with coronavirus. Instead they will be advised to take a PCR test.
He says 18-year-olds will be treated the same as children for four months after their 18th birthday, to allow them the opportunity to get their Covid vaccinations.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is now updating parliament on government plans for schooling during the pandemic.
"We all owe a great debt of gratitude to pupils, parents and teachers who have given up so much as we have taken action to save lives," he says.
Step four "does not mean the end of the pandemic," he states, but the government is "moving to a new phase of managing Covid".
"Children are better off in classrooms with their friends and teachers," he says, adding that "this is hugely valuable for their wellbeing as well as their education".
"Key restrictions on education and childcare will come to an end as we move to step 4," he says.
The government is ending class bubbles, and NHS Test and Trace will now handle notification of Covid outbreaks in schools, he adds.
Image source, HoCGavin Williamson has started his statement in the House of Commons on the changes to coronavirus rules in schools.
Stay with us for live updates.
The Health Secretary Sajid Javid has finished outlining the new rules for fully vaccinated people and answering questions from MPs.
Next up is Education Secretary Gavin Williamson who will outline changes to how schools in England deal with positive Covid cases later.
He's expected at about 13:30 BST to announce a relaxation of the "bubble system" which saw more than 375,000 children sent home last week.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said "the way forward is with testing rather than by sending the bubbles home".
Williamson is expected to say the changes will come into effect on 19 July, alongside the lifting of other Covid restrictions - here's what we know so far.
Image source, PA MediaLicensing laws are to be relaxed to allow pubs to stay open later for Sunday's Euro 2020 final, Downing Street has confirmed.
Premises will be able to stay open for an extra 45 minutes until 11.15pm, in case the game goes to extra time and penalties.
The measure would apply whether or not England get to the final.
It follows similar moves for the 2014 World Cup and events such as royal weddings.
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq says Public Health England has warned we may see a flu surge in winter, as we haven't had much recent exposure to respiratory infections due to lockdown and mask wearing.
She asks the health secretary what he is doing to prepare for this, and asks if masks should be compulsory on public transport ahead of flu season.
Sajid Javid says the policy on masks outlined yesterday was the right one, but that she is right to highlight the concerns around flu.
He says one of the things we are doing is that when the vaccine booster programme is rolled out in September, "our plan is to also simultaneously offer the flu vaccine which will mean that the take-up of the flu vaccine should be at record highs."
The SNP's Patricia Gibson raises concerns that unlocking the UK so quickly could give rise to a new variant which is resistant to vaccines.
Sajid Javid says this risk "absolutely exists" and "this pandemic is not over".
The UK is keeping strong border controls in place, he states, and the country is also keeping test, track and trace policies in place.
It is an issue "around the world and we will continue to work with our international partners", he adds.