Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, with around 237 million confirmed cases and more than 4.8 million deaths across almost 200 countries.

But the number of daily cases is stable or falling in most regions.

Read more - and search for each country's latest data - here.

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Rome

Image source, Getty Images

Some here have called it “Italy’s Capitol Hill” moment. Hundreds protesting over the compulsory Covid health pass in Rome on Saturday forced their way past riot police into the headquarters of Italy’s biggest trade union, CGIL, vandalising the building.

Others tried to break into Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s office. Twelve have been arrested so far.

The ugly scenes followed a protest rally by thousands against the "Green Pass" (Covid pass), dominated by the neo-fascist party Forza Nuova. A photograph of one showed a swastika tattoo. It’s prompted Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party to pledge legislation outlawing Forza Nuova, which has never exceeded 0.5% in elections.

Yet polls show the vast majority here support the Green Pass. Italy, the first country in the West to be crushed by the pandemic, has introduced arguably the most rigid vaccination rules in Europe, with the Green Pass already compulsory in most venues, and mandatory from 15 October for all workers.

It has put pressure on Matteo Salvini’s far-right League Party, which is part of the national unity government but has previously courted vaccination sceptics. However, with more than 80% of Italians fully vaccinated, Mr Draghi's coalition government believes the Green Pass is the way to push those still refusing to fall into line.

NHS England and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists are calling on pregnant women to get jabbed because of concerns about the number of pregnant women with Covid needing the most serious treatment in critical care units.

Sultana Ashiq caught Covid-19 when she was nearly 31 weeks pregnant and was in intensive care for 46 days battling the disease. Her twins were born while she was in a coma.

She was ineligible for the vaccine at the time but is calling on expectant mothers to get vaccinated against coronavirus.

Image source, Reuters

A US drugs giant is seeking emergency approval for an oral treatment for mild to moderate Covid-19 in adults.

Merck says molnupiravir, in the form of a pill, would be targeted at patients who are at risk of progressing to severe Covid-19 or hospitalisation.

It is seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to allow it to be used - citing an initial study that found it reduced the risk of hospitalisation or death by approximately 50%.

Merck - working with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics - has already sold 1.7m courses of the treatment to the US government.

As we're reporting, people in Wales now need an NHS Covid pass to be able to legally attend big events or nightclubs.

We went to speak to people at Cardiff Central train station who had mixed views about the new measure.

If you're just joining our live coverage, here are the day's main coronavirus developments so far:

• The UK's travel red list has been cut from 54 countries to seven, while fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK from 37 other countries will also have to comply with fewer rules
• Covid passes are now compulsory in Wales for entry to nightclubs and large events, while similar rules will be enforced in Scotland from 18 October
• A memorial will be created to honour London transport workers who died from coronavirus
• An Astra-Zeneca antibody therapy can reduce the chances of high-risk people developing severe, life-threating Covid, clinical trial results show
• And in Australia, people queued for pubs and shops that opened as Sydney emerged from lockdown after almost four months

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, Covid passes are now compulsory for entry into nightclubs and other mass events in Wales.

But First Minister Mark Drakeford admits there is a "vulnerability" in the system which allows test results to be faked.

Asked on Good Morning Britain about the possibility of people falsifying lateral flow test results, he says: "This is a vulnerability in the scheme.

"We have created a specific offence which will mean that if someone deliberately falsifies the result of a lateral flow test they will be breaching the law in Wales."

He says: "I'm quite sure that the huge bulk of people who are attending a rugby match or visiting a nightclub will use the lateral flow devices... not to get round the rules but to make sure they're keeping themselves safe from this dreadful disease."

Here's everything you need to know about Covid vaccine passes.

Image source, TfL

A memorial will be created to honour London transport workers who died from coronavirus.

Transport for London (TfL) has released designs of a space in the City of London featuring a cherry blossom tree, a plaque and benches to allow quiet reflection.

TfL says 98 transport workers have died from Covid, but this is not including the capital's taxi drivers or private hire drivers who are also honoured by the memorial.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says: "I hope that the new permanent memorial in the middle of our city will be a place where those that have lost loved ones will find solace, and be a reminder of the heroic key workers who have made it possible for us to come through the pandemic by keeping our city moving."

The memorial will be situated on a pedestrianised section of Braham Street in Aldgate, near Aldgate Tube station.

TfL aims to submit a planning application to Tower Hamlets Council for the memorial by early 2022, and hopes the site will be completed by the summer of that year.

A crime commissioner says he is "very angry" after a 15-year-old girl was intimidated by anti-vaccine protesters at a mass vaccination centre in Cardiff.

South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael says protests against Covid vaccines are "crazy nonsense" and that he will support police action to protect people from intimidation while doing what is right for public health.

He says police have to protect the right to protest, but also questions why some are "completely ignoring the evidence on vaccination".

The commissioner says one arrest has been made at the protest - where Grace Barker-Earle, who has used a wheelchair since contracting Covid, was confronted after receiving a Covid jab.

Her mother, Angela, says protesters accused her of using Grace as a "lab rat".

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish firms raised prices at their sharpest rate since at least 1999, amid the Covid crisis and other inflationary pressures, a survey suggests.

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland purchasing managers index (PMI) suggests companies were having to pass on the rising costs of materials, pay, logistics and Brexit - as well as the pandemic.

Cost burdens were reported to be rising at their quickest rate since 2008.

RBS says firms raised average charges "to a degree unseen" in two decades.

On a positive note, the survey found that manufacturing and service-sector output rose for a seventh straight month, but September saw the slowest rate of increase for five months.

For the sixth time in as many months, inflows of new work rose, with respondents linking the latest uplift with strong client demand, in part due to the relaxation of lockdown restrictions.

Image source, EPA

Covid passes are now compulsory in Wales for entry to nightclubs and large events, while similar rules will be enforced in Scotland from 18 October.

England has scrapped its plans for certification but proof you've had the vaccine is also needed to travel to many other countries.

So how do you get one?

In Wales, anyone who is aged over 16 and has been fully vaccinated in Wales or England can use the NHS Covid Pass, external to prove their status. It is also available to people who have had a negative lateral flow test in the past 48 hours. They are available digitally but you need to register for an NHS login, external first.

In Scotland, people can use NHS Scotland Covid Status App to generate a QR code. This was introduced on 30 September, but some problems have been reported with its launch.

Northern Ireland does not have a formal Covid status scheme and in England you can use the NHS App, external to generate an NHS Covid Pass for travel and domestic use.

Image source, PA Media

Heathrow's passenger numbers last month were at 38% of pre-pandemic levels, the airport has announced.

Just 2.6 million people travelled through the west London airport in September, compared with 6.8 million during the same month in 2019.

The decline was driven by North American traffic being only a quarter of 2019 levels - but places such as Mexico, Cuba and Costa Rica are no longer on the UK's red list.

The US has been closed to UK visitors during the coronavirus pandemic, although the restriction will be lifted in November for those who are fully vaccinated.

Heathrow says rival airports in the European Union "enjoyed stronger resurgence over summer".

Image source, PA Media

As we've been hearing, the NHS is renewing its call for unvaccinated pregnant women to take up the Covid jab.

Mother-to-be Claire Bromley spent almost a month in hospital with coronavirus and says she feels the risk of being unjabbed "far outweighs any doubts" about getting a vaccination.

The 33-year-old, who had not been vaccinated, was admitted to her local hospital in Kent with breathing difficulties just a few days after testing positive for the virus, and was then put on a ventilator while in a medically induced coma.

When her condition deteriorated, medics thought she might need an emergency C-section just 26 weeks into her pregnancy and she was transferred to another hospital in London.

But her condition improved and she was allowed home in early August, almost a month after first being admitted, and is now recovering with her husband and their unborn child, who is doing well.

She says: "I completely understand the hesitation not to get vaccinated when you are growing a child inside you, and after experiencing two miscarriages before the pandemic, the fear of being pregnant again with the worry of Covid was sending my anxiety through the roof.

"But, after what happened, I can honestly say that the risk of not having the Covid vaccine far outweighs any doubts about having it."

We've got a video explainer on the Covid vaccine and pregnancy and there is further information on the NHS website., external

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

An antibody therapy being developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca can reduce the chances of high-risk people developing severe, life-threating Covid infections, clinical trial results show.

The drug, called AZD7442 and given as an injection, attacks the virus and buys the body’s own immune system time to fight the infection.

In the trial, a single dose cut the risk of severe Covid-19 or death from any cause by 50%, compared with a placebo.

For those who received the treatment within five days of their symptoms first appearing, it reduced the risk of developing severe Covid or death by 67%.

Full results from the Tackle trial will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

The company is already seeking emergency use authorisation for the drug in the US. It’s not the first therapy of this kind. A similar type of treatment, called Ronapreve, has been approved for use in the UK.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

With the news dominated by other issues, it has gone almost unnoticed that the UK now has one of the highest rates of Covid infection in Europe. But, as winter fast approaches, how worried should we be?

The rates certainly look troubling. Only a handful of countries, including Romania and Serbia, have higher infection levels than the UK. And compared with the big nations in western Europe, the numbers are significantly higher.

There are a variety of reasons for this. The UK - or rather England - was the first nation in Europe to fully unlock when it ended most Covid restrictions on 19 July. It was not until late August that an EU country - Denmark - followed suit.

In Germany and Italy there are still restrictions on large crowds at events like football matches. And in a number of nations, such as Spain, social distancing remains in schools, as does wearing masks from the age of six.

So it is hardly surprising a virus that thrives on human contact has taken off in the UK compared with the rest of Europe.

But do the higher cases matter for the UK? You can read Nick's full piece here.

The number of new coronavirus cases reported daily remains high in the UK.

On Sunday, a further 34,574 people tested positive for the virus. That's more than 4,000 cases higher than for the same day the previous week. It also sees a 7.8% rise in cases for the seven-days to Sunday compared to the seven days before that period.

This also excludes data from Wales, which was not added to the government Covid data dashboard on Sunday.

But the number of deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test is steady, with a seven-day average of 112 deaths for the period ending on Sunday.

For the seven days to Sunday, there were 785 deaths across the UK, the same as the week before.

The number of patients in hospital with Covid has also steadied, with the most recent figures showing 6,763 people with coronavirus in hospital in the UK, the same as a week earlier.

You can find more data on the pandemic in the UK here.

The NHS is renewing its call for pregnant women to take up the Covid vaccine, amid concern that a rising proportion of critically ill Covid patients are unvaccinated mothers-to-be.

NHS England's medical director of primary care, Dr Nikki Kanani, tells BBC Breakfast that pregnancy puts "quite a strain" on the heart and lungs and if pregnant women get Covid-19 then that "lays on pressure on an already pressurised system inside a pregnant women, and that's why almost 20% of people with coronavirus who are having extra support on critical care are pregnant women who are unvaccinated".

She adds: "The evidence is really clear - if you're not vaccinated yet and you're pregnant, please take up that lifesaving offer of protection."

"I'm a mum of two and you read so much about what you should and shouldn't do during your pregnancy.

"My advice is clear, the best thing that you can do is to take the vaccine if it is offered to you, and if you're unsure because of all of the advice out there, speak to a medical professional who can talk about your concerns - and like the 81,000 other pregnant women - you may well feel reassured enough to have that really important first dose of protection."

Image source, Getty Images

From today, people in Wales need an NHS Covid pass to be able to legally attend big events or nightclubs.

They are compulsory for over-18s, and show people have either tested negative on a lateral flow test or are fully vaccinated against Covid.

Wales' rugby match against New Zealand on 30 October will be one of the first mass events to require Covid passes.

Some nightclub bosses say they feel "singled out" by the rules, but other people say they feel reassured.

We've got more on this story here.

The Australian city of Sydney has emerged from lockdown after almost four months, with locals celebrating a range of new freedoms.

People queued for pubs and shops that opened at midnight on Monday specifically for the occasion.

Many others have been enjoying anticipated reunions and visits to the homes of relatives and friends.

Covid rules had banned household visits and travel beyond a 5km (3.1 miles) zone, separating many families.

But most restrictions have now been eased for fully vaccinated people.

You can read more about the situation in Sydney here.

The removal of South Africa from the travel red list is welcome news for British expats Matt and Hannah Pirnie, who say it will be easier to see their family in the UK again.

"It's been a long pandemic for us. Not seeing family, not being allowed to go back, but more importantly grandparents not being able to come here and see their grandkids. It's been a long two years," Matt says.

"First of all when all the airplanes stopped initially - that was quite anxiety provoking - and then to be put on the red list for so long has just been quite hard to wrap your head around," Hannah adds.

"Taking three children into a prison-like mentality was just a no-go, plus the cost. It's been quite hard really."

She says: "We know now that we can go home if we need to, and we can see parents and be there if anything happens. And likewise, I just can't wait to get my parents back out here again and hopefully have a family Christmas this year."