Wales' new health minister says government is "keeping an open mind" over Indian variant response.

Ministers are hoping to update people ahead of the planned lifting of limits on social contact.

Infections have gone over 100 cases per 100,000 people with neighbouring area East Renfrewshire also seeing rates rise.

Abi Morgan and Luke Hinojosa had planned to marry last year, but had to postpone due to the pandemic.

A daily update on the latest coronavirus cases and vaccines in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Moray is also staying in level three due to high infection rates, meaning pubs cannot serve alcohol indoors.

Leisure travel from England, Scotland and Wales, to a select number of countries, is now allowed.

Despite UK hospitality venues trading more freely, fewer people have been visiting shops than last week.

Cumbria County Council said the situation is being monitored and health advice remains the same.

Dan Pallett
BBC Midlands Today Sport

Spectators have returned to Wolverhampton speedway today - one of the first places to host fans again.

Peter Adams, manager of the Wolverhampton Wolves, said it was "delightful" to see them and was now keen to "get cracking".

"It's 575 days since the bikes last saw any action," he said.

"Hopefully we can get cracking now and things will be uninterrupted."

He thanked the fans for their loyalty during the lockdown, as many had continued to buy season tickets and donate cash.

"Speedway fans are always loyal and we've kept in touch with them," he added.

"Although we're restricted now on how many we can admit, we hope come 21 June we can let more in."

Riders will compete for the Thank You NHS Trophy tonight before the league begins next week.

Coventry's Belgrade Theatre is poised to reopen tonight for the first time in more than a year.

Actor Joe Pasquale who is performing in April in Paris said returning to the stage represents near normal life.

"Without this outlet for my personality, my ego, whatever you want to call it, this is what I do, this defines who I am and without it, I'm just a bloke in a pair of pants doing nothing," he said.

The venue is among the first to open but will only be a third full as social-distancing rules are followed.

But Hamish Glenn, artistic director, said they were determined to open.

"We're a theatre, that's the bottom line," he said.

"We want to welcome people in to have a great night in the theatre.

"We've put a lot of time effort and money in ensuring the Belgrade Theatre is a safe place to come and enjoy an evening."

We've caught up with Joanne and Graham, who were among the passengers on the first plane from Birmingham Airport to Faro, in Portugal, earlier.

They have arrived safely, saying the flight was great and all the extra Covid checks had been fine to get through in Portugal.

The pair, from Streetly, Sutton Coldfield, said getting through the whole process had been a "big relief".

The trip is to mark Graham's birthday so, having got to their hotel, "we are off to the bar now to celebrate my 60th".

Allen Cook
BBC News, West Midlands

A soft play centre has been "inundated" with inquiries since reopening earlier as lockdown eased.

Parents told us how much they valued "getting back to normal" at Come Into Play, in Stone, Staffordshire.

Owner Caron Lim said it had had such a great start after several months of being closed.

"We have just been inundated with inquires and bookings, all really encouraging, seeing all the smiling faces, really good," she said.

People are urged to stay safe as many retailers open for the first time since December.

BBC Midlands Today

As lockdown restrictions ease further today, people have flocked to enjoy indoor activities.

The Tamworth Snowdome is open but with a reduced capacity but dozens of thrill-seekers were glad to be back on the slopes

Director Tim Carter said: "We're a seasonal business so Covid fell right across the winter which was very, very, painful, very difficult for us.

"We are absolutely confident that customers are coming back and they're wanting to book.

"What we have to be careful of and what we have to be mindful of is our capacities."

The venue is running at 60% capacity, but is hoping for a successful summer season.

Eager tourists queue up hours before check-in at Blackpool hotels as Covid restrictions ease.

Holidaymakers John and Victoria Perfect, from Cannock, say they're in heaven by managing to get away for a break in Madeira.

The couple flew from Birmingham Airport this morning after the ban on foreign holidays was lifted for people in Britain.

They paid £80 each at the airport to complete a pre-departure test to visit the island.

Image source, PA Media

Mrs Perfect, said it felt "absolutely amazing" to be by a swimming pool after being "sat at home doing nothing" because of the pandemic.

"This is just heaven to me. It's the social contact with people as well. This morning I've just had a smile on my face," she said.

The 60-year-old has undergone two operations recently and has been affected by having to isolate and not see her family, but hoped the holiday would help her relax and feel happier.

"It's been a bit grim for me really, especially not having the granddaughters," she added, but she planned to "do nothing really, just relax and enjoy this holiday feeling again and the sun and the sea".

Image source, PA Media

The founder of a London cinema says it will have to operate at close to maximum capacity in order to continue to break even despite coronavirus restrictions being eased.

Ben Freedman said the Prince Charles Cinema in Soho had "arrived in one piece, slightly bruised but raring to go" as it reopened to the public on Monday.

"When you love movies as much as we do, to not be able to show them to people for so long is pretty horrible and really the mood lifted as soon as we started to aim towards today, which was a couple of months ago."

He said the public are "really desperate" to be able to return to cinemas and his venue has not been heavily impacted by disruption to the film release schedule because they show classic movies as well as new ones.

Chains including Vue, Odeon, Curzon and Everyman have also reopened their cinemas, while Cineworld will begin doing so from Wednesday.

Arrivals from the UK and Channel Islands will be able to leave isolation after a negative Covid test.

Sandra hasn't hugged her daughter Sam for more than a year due to coronavirus restrictions.