Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael asks what the minister means when he says the government is reserving the right to introduce Covid passports in the future.

Nadhim Zahawi says the government will "come back" to MPs if a decision is made to mandate the double vaccination requirement for "large, unstructured" gatherings.

He says, in the meantime, the government is encouraging the use of the NHS Covid pass in environments with large numbers of people.

The England and Wales NHS Covid-19 app sent out nearly 620,000 contract tracing alerts in the week ending 14 July.

That compares with around 530,000 alerts sent the previous week to people who have been in close contact with someone who later tests positive.

Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Jeremy Hunt, says YouGov reports that 10% of people who had the NHS Covid-19 app have deleted it, and a further 20% are thinking of doing so.

He asks if the government will consider scrapping self-isolation rules for double vaccinated people now.

He also asks for assurances that the NHS pay settlement will not come from existing budgets.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi says that the government has provided £27bn to the NHS in England so far through the pandemic, and the government will ensure that the NHS gets everything it needs, he adds.

He says "there are no easy decisions," and that the most effective tool is vaccination, but the second most effective remains self-isolation.

Zahawi adds that if too much changes "too rapidly" then "you run the risk of infection rates running away with us".

Replying to Labour's Jonathan Ashworth, the government's vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi outlines the people who will be eligible for the 3% NHS pay rise.

He says it includes one million NHS staff including nurses, paramedics, consultants and salaried GPs. Junior doctors have a separate pay rise over several years, he says.

In reply to whether the UK has enough capacity for testing over the summer, Zahawi says the capacity for PCR tests a day is 640,000 a day.

And answering the question about where the Covid pass will be compulsory, Zahawi says the passes - which prove someone has been double vaccinated - will be required in nightclubs and other crowded indoor venues like music venues, "or large unstructured outdoor events such as business events and festivals, or very large structured events such as business events, music and spectator sport events".

They're the places the government is most concerned about, Zahawi says - after having seen countries like the Netherlands, which reopened nightclubs only to close them again.

Zahawi says the idea to bring it in at "the end of September" is the right thing to do, as the time helps businesses prepare while giving younger people the chance to get fully vaccinated.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth is up next in the Commons.

He says "it was a shambles" for NHS workers to be offered a 3% pay rise settlement considering their contribution during the pandemic.

On Covid, he says the government is u-turning today and providing a list of occupations that will be exempt from self-isolating. He also asks if the UK has enough capacity for PCR tests this summer as cases are expected to continue to rise.

Finally, he asks why it is safe for clubbers to go out on Friday night, but for going out to nightclubs to require being double vaccinated from September - and he asks how schools will be helped to increase ventilation in their buildings.

Nadhim Zahawi says the government will always keep its Covid measures under review.

He says everyone should be proud of the enthusiasm and uptake shown by people in the UK to the vaccine programme.

Some 88% of all adults have now had a first dose, and 69% have had both doses, he says.

Nine in 10 adults now have Covid antibodies, he adds.

But many people are still unprotected - including 34% of people aged 18 to 29 he says, as he urges more younger people to come forward for a jab.

Nadhim Zahawi says everyone knows the benefits of being fully vaccinated. Data shows that having two doses protects against hospitalisation by around 96%, he says.

And new data today from Public Health England shows the vaccination programme in England alone has prevented 52,600 hospitalisations, he says.

He adds that this week, fully vaccinated adults and children were allowed to return from amber list countries without quarantining.

From 16 August, children and under 18s and people who are fully vaccinated will no longer need to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone with Covid, given their reduced risk of passing on the disease.

And from the end of September, the government plans to make full vaccination a condition of entry to large venues which have crowds.

Nadhim Zahawi begins by urging people to stay cautious even after rules were eased on Monday.

"Although we're moving forward, we move forward with caution," he says.

He says the average number of daily cases in England is around 41,000 and hospitalisations and deaths are rising too - although at a lower level than in previous waves.

He says the government is launching a new campaign to urge people to take steps to keep safe - such as wearing face masks, getting tests regularly and keeping rooms ventilated.

He says the Covid pass has been rolled out this week - via the NHS app, website or calling 119 - to demonstrate proof of vaccination.

Businesses can use the Covid pass as a condition of entry if they would like to, he says.

For venues with large numbers of people - like nightclubs - the government reserves the right to mandate its use in the future.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi begins by apologising to the Commons Speaker for the NHS pay rise not being announced in the Commons first yesterday.

He also thanks Lindsay Hoyle ahead of the summer recess for everything he's done to keep MPs safe during Covid.

The government's vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, has now started reading out his Covid update in the House of Commons.

Stick with us for updates...

Image source, Getty Images

Fifteen videos posted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have been taken down from YouTube by moderators.

The video website says the decision wasn't based on politics or ideology - but on its content rules because the videos spread fake news about coronavirus.

Since the start of the pandemic, Bolsonaro has spoken out against lockdowns, masks and vaccinations.

He uses his YouTube channel to share weekly national addresses, and conversations with ministers about various issues - some of which are live-streamed

According to one Brazilian news outlet, one of the videos shows a doctor recommending hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as treatments against Covid. YouTube says it doesn't allow content that promotes those substances as a treatment.

We've got more here.

Image source, EPA

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for the slow rollout of vaccines in the country.

Just over 11% of the population is fully vaccinated.

“I’m certainly sorry that we haven’t been able to achieve the marks that we had hoped for at the beginning of this year. Of course I am.

“But what’s more important is that we’re totally focused on ensuring we’ve been turning this around,” he says during a news conference.

More than half of Australia's population is currently in lockdown.

Earlier today, New South Wales state recorded 124 new Covid cases, its highest tally in 16 months. Sydney is in its fourth week of lockdown and Victoria state is in its second. South Australia entered a snap lockdown earlier this week.

Australia has recorded 32,426 cases and 915 deaths since the pandemic began.

Image source, Co-Op

A spokesperson for Co-op has told the BBC it's "sorry that we are running low on some products".

It comes as businesses around the UK complain of staff shortages and supply issues due to self-isolation rules.

"Like many retailers, we are impacted by some patchy disruption to our deliveries and store operations but we are working closely with our suppliers to get re-stocked quickly,” Co-op says.

Co-op is recruiting up to 3,000 temporary staff to keep depots working to capacity and stores stocked.

The UK's vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi is due to make a statement in the House of Commons shortly.

He's expected at 10.30 BST. We're not sure what he's going to say, but his statement is billed as a "Covid-19 update".

Zahawi made a statement in the Commons earlier this week on giving children vaccinations. He confirmed that children over 12 who are at higher risk of getting sick from Covid will be offered the jab, as well as those on the cusp of turning 18.

US President Joe Biden has urged Americans to get jabbed as the country’s vaccination rollout slows down.

Infections are rising across the country, and in some states fewer than half of residents have received their first dose.

The BBC Reality Check team looked into where vaccinations are lagging and why this might be.

You can read what they found here.

Image source, Getty Images

Lorry drivers - already in short supply - say they too are being affected by large numbers of self-isolation orders.

Rod McKenzie, from the Road Haulage Association, says he doesn't know how many drivers are self-isolating "but the effects are clear".

"We started off with a shortage of 100,000 drivers, UK lorry drivers, and that's because we've always had a shortage of 60,000 and we've lost an additional 20,000 European drivers, add to that 30,000 cancelled lorry driving tests in the past year which haven't been made up.

"That's a shortage of 100,000, and when you're that short on staff to begin with, and you have the pingdemic on top of that, you've got a recipe for chaos, and chaos is what we're now seeing unfolding in front of our eyes."

He says there are fewer lorry drivers than there were last week. "Since the pingdemic has peaked we're seeing this critical shortage get even worse."

McKenzie blames the government for not being clearer on which workers will be exempt from the self-isolation rule. The list of which workers are exempt is expected to be published later.

"At the beginning of the pandemic it was very clear that lorry drivers were essential workers, but in this latest advice it's not clear. Are we essential? Of course we're essential. Does the government think we're essential? We don't know."

Read more here: How serious is the shortage of lorry drivers?

With fears of a new wave of Covid hitting India, the pressure is on to vaccinate more of the population.

Despite being the world's largest producer of Covid vaccines, there's been criticism that the rollout has been slow.

BBC South Asia correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from one remote district in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which has managed to vaccinate the vast majority of adults - against all odds.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The number of young people with eating disorders in England ending up in hospital has risen during the pandemic, a BBC investigation has found.

Data from NHS Digital showed the number of under-20s admitted over the past year topped 3,200 - nearly 50% higher than in 2019-20.

Hospitals are warning they are running out of beds to care for these patients.

Waits for community treatment have lengthened as the number of referrals has increased.

One leading children's hospital said it had had to resort to putting vulnerable children on general wards where there was not the specialist staff to support them.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, here are some of the latest headlines from around the world:

• Youtube has removed videos posted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro because they spread misinformation about Covid. The tech giant said the decision was based on its content policies
• The Dominican Republic’s President Luis Abinader has received a third Covid vaccine dose and urged people to do the same. He previously received two doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine and this time had a Pfizer vaccine
• China has rejected a World Health Organization plan for a second investigation into the origin of Covid, which would include the theory that it may have escaped from a Chinese lab
• Mass testing has started in China’s Nanjing city after an outbreak there. A total of 11 cases were recorded in Jiangsu province, where Nanjing is located, on Wednesday
• Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologised for the pace of the country’s vaccine rollout. It comes as the state of New South Wales recorded 124 new cases in a day

Image source, Getty Images

Two of rugby's biggest teams have pulled out of the Rugby League World Cup - which is due to be held in England - because of concerns over player's safety due to Covid.

The men's, women's and wheelchair events are scheduled to take place in England in October and November.

The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) and New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) have asked organisers if it can be rescheduled for 2022.

NZRL chief Greg Peters says it is "simply too unsafe" to take part.

"The safety and wellbeing of our people is the main priority, and unfortunately, that cannot be guaranteed to our satisfaction.

"There are stark differences between how the pandemic is being managed in the UK compared to Australasia, and recent developments have highlighted how quickly things can change.

"The tournament organisers have moved heaven and earth to make this work, so it is not an easy decision, but the Covid-19 situation in the UK shows no sign of improving, and it's simply too unsafe to send teams and staff over."