Image source, Reuters

All 16 and 17-year-olds in England will be offered their first coronavirus vaccine dose by 23 August, the government says.

It means they should have some degree of protection before going to college or university in September.

The JCVI - the scientific body advising the government on vaccines - says one dose of the Covid vaccine should be offered to everyone aged 16 and over. At the moment, 16-17-year olds are not expected to be offered a second dose.

The vaccine has already been approved for over-12s with underlying conditions or those who live with others at high risk, but there are no plans to give it routinely to 12-15-year-olds.

It is estimated a third of 18-29-year-olds in England have still not had a single jab. In Scotland, the figure is about 30%.

You can read more about vaccines here.

We've just had new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which show there were 609 deaths in the UK involving coronavirus in the week ending 6 August - 141 more than the previous week.

The ONS says, external the latest figure accounts for around one in 19 deaths (5.3%) and is a 30.1% increase on the previous week.

Overall, there were 11,589 deaths registered in the UK in the week ending 6 August, 12% above the five-year average.

Image source, PA Media

Families who have lost loved ones to coronavirus are due to meet Scottish government ministers to discuss a future public inquiry.

Members of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice , externalwill hold talks with Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.

In Scotland, 8,032 people have died after testing positive for the virus.

So far 10,421 deaths have been registered where Covid was mentioned on the death certificate.

In May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs an independent public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic would be held in spring 2022.

But Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for a four nations inquiry into the global health crisis by the end of the year.

She previously said the way elderly people were discharged from hospital and into care homes in the early stages of the pandemic was a mistake.

You can read more here.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the country's borders will remain closed until at least the end of the year.

She stressed the priority was vaccinating New Zealand's population by the end of 2021, but said from the start of next year visitors would again be allowed in, with quarantine times based on the country they've travelled from.

Rebecca Wearn

Ordering a pint from your mobile phone was a regular occurrence at the height of the pandemic as pubs and bars switched to table service only to reduce the risk from Covid.

But the UK's data privacy watchdog says punters should think carefully about handing over their personal data when ordering food and drink via apps and other web-based services.

The Information Commissioner's Office told the BBC that customers should be aware they had a choice over whether to share information, and that venues should only gather data that is "relevant and necessary".

Suzanne Gordon, director of data protection at the ICO, says: "I think it's too easy to upload an app and straight away put your name, email address, payment details in, without actually understanding fully where that information may be shared and why it's being used," she said

"Ultimately this is your data, it's your personal information and you need to be confident when you're handing it over and the reasons why."

Apart from in Northern Ireland, where you still have to be served at the table, restaurants and bars across the UK can now return to pre-pandemic style service at the bar or from waiting staff, but many venues are keeping their online ordering too.

Online ordering is popular with many customers who want to escape the crush at the bar - but also with businesses who want to process orders quickly and have another way to interact with customers.

You can read more here.

Image source, Pacemaker

Now to Northern Ireland where health officials are telling people that this weekend will be the last chance to get a first Covid jab at one of the country's mass vaccination centres.

The Big Jab Weekend campaign will see centres like the SSE Arena in Belfast offering walk-in first jabs to the over-18s for the first time since July.

Mass vaccination centres are set to wind down operations by the end of August.

People aged 16 and 17 will be able to access the centres for their first vaccine dose until then.

There will still be opportunities to get jabbed after the mass vaccination centres close but these will "inevitably more limited", Patricia Donnelly, the head of Northern Ireland's vaccine programme, says.

Analysis: A jobs market in robust recoverypublished at 09:39 British Summer Time 17 August 2021

09:39 BST 17 August 2021

Faisal Islam
BBC Economics Editor

Image source, PA Media

These figures show a jobs market in robust recovery as the economy reopens and the furlough scheme starts to be phased out. Employment is up on all measures, unemployment down and experimental numbers in the month of July showed there are over one million vacancies.

There are record numbers of unfilled jobs, in sectors such as entertainment, accommodation and food, underlining the concerns of industry on labour shortages.

The number of payroll jobs reported on the HMRC systems is now very close to its pre-pandemic level at 28.9 million now compared with 29 million in March 2020. That number is up 576,000 over the past year and 182,000 up in July alone.

The growth in that varies considerably between regions, with holiday areas such as Cornwall and west Wales showing annual rates of growth of around 5%, far above the rates in major cities.

The chancellor welcomed the figures as "promising". Analysts warned that the unemployment figures would rise as the furlough scheme continued to be phased out. But the peak unemployment rate is on course to be significantly lower than had been expected last year.

Image source, PA Media

We brought you the latest employment figures from the Office for National Statistics earlier - and they've been welcomed by UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

“Today's figures show that our plan for jobs is working - saving people's jobs and getting people back into work," he says.

"I know there could still be bumps in the road but the data is promising - there are now more employees on payrolls than at any point since March 2020 and the number of people on furlough is the lowest since the scheme launched."

The coronavirus job retention scheme, also known as furlough, was introduced in spring last year, to stop people being laid off by their employers during lockdown.

The government initially paid 80% of the wages of people who couldn't work, or whose employers could no longer afford to pay them - up to a monthly limit of £2,500.

Throughout August and September the government's contribution to the wages of people who are still on furlough has reduced - it now pays 60% and employers pay 20%

The scheme has been extended several times but is finally due to end on 30 September.

Image source, Reuters

PCR tests for travel have become "a predictable Covid rip-off", says the ex-chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Lord Tyrie.

Lord Tyrie said the competition regulator had been "too slow to react" to complaints about testing providers.

Holidaymakers have objected to high prices and poor service from many of the 400-plus test firms listed on the government's website.

Tests cost about £75 on average, but prices can reach hundreds.

Last week, Health Secretary Sajid Javid asked the CMA to investigate "excessive" pricing and "exploitative practices" among PCR Covid test firms.

Initially, the CMA said it would take up to a month to report back. But after a chorus of objection from the travel industry, the CMA said it was reviewing the situation "immediately".

Simon Atkinson
BBC News, Sydney

Image source, PA Media

All of New Zealand is going into a snap lockdown - after the country detected its first Covid-19 case in the community since February.

Health officials met to discuss the response to the case, which has been identified in its largest city, Auckland.

The lockdown will last for at least three days, except for Auckland where it is expected to run for seven days.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the government has prepared for the eventuality and “going hard and early has worked for us before”.

The patient is a 58-year-old man, who is believed to have been infectious since last Thursday.

There are at least 23 potential sites of transmission, the country's director general of health Ashley Bloomfield says.

Vaccinations will be suspended for 48 hours while the safety of vaccination centres is assessed.

Image source, Getty Images

The latest official jobs figures are out this morning and show UK unemployment fell to 4.7% in the three months to June while average pay jumped 7.4%.

The number of UK workers on payrolls also rose by 182,000 between June and July, according to Office for National Statistics figures, as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic.

But that’s still 201,000 lower than before the pandemic.

Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS, says: "The world of work continues to rebound robustly from the effects of the pandemic."

• The number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 182,000 between June and July as the economy continues to recover from the pandemic, but that’s still 201,000 lower than before the pandemic, the Office for National Statistics says
• New Zealand is entering a short lockdown after a case of Covid was discovered in the community for the first time since February. The whole country will now go into three days of tight restrictions – with Auckland, where the case was identified, expected to be in lockdown for seven days
• The former chair of the Competition and Markets Authority has labelled PCR tests for travel "a predictable Covid rip-off". Lord Tyrie said the competition regulator had been "too slow to react" to complaints
• Families who have lost loved ones to Covid are set to meet Scottish government ministers to discuss a future public inquiry
• This weekend will be the last chance for adults to get a first dose of a Covid-19 jab at one of Northern Ireland's mass vaccination centres, health officials say, with the centres due to wind down at the end of August
• Customers should think carefully about handing over personal data when ordering food and drink via their mobile phones, the Information Commissioner's Office suggests, after table-service apps became commonplace during the pandemic

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

We’ll be bringing you updates from the UK and around the world throughout the day.