That brings our coverage of the Welsh Government's coronavirus press briefing to a close. Here's a summary of the main points:

• More pupils including all primary school children could start to return to classrooms from 15 March if conditions continue to improve, Education Minister Kirsty Williams has said
• Students in Year 11 and 13, those doing similar qualifications in college and some Year 10 and 12 pupils entered for exams this summer could also go in, although not necessarily full-time
• Ms Williams hopes that all pupils will be able to return to school after the Easter holidays, but the situation will be confirmed before pupils break up this term
• Years 11 to 13 pupils will be tested for Covid twice weekly using lateral flow tests at home, along with students in further education colleges
• There's been a steady and consistent fall in Covid cases from over 600 per 100,000 people in December to 80 now, Wales' deputy chief medical officer has said
• More than 25% of the population of Wales has now had a first dose of vaccine

That's all for today. Thanks for joining us and have a good afternoon.

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said he supported the Welsh Government’s phased return to school for pupils in Wales.

“I think the Welsh approach, which is also the Scottish and the Northern Irish one, is the right one and that’s taking it in a step-by-step cautious way rather than doing it all at once," he said.

The youngest pupils in Wales have started going back today, with older primary school children possibly returning from 15 March and secondary school pupils after Easter.

Pupils in England are expected to return to school from 8 March, but it is not yet clear whether this will be a phased return or not.

Mr Price has also repeated his call for teachers to be vaccinated.

He said there was a “strong case” for them to be given priority “as key workers”.

The leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd says many parents will be “frustrated” after hearing that some pupils in Wales will not return to school until after Easter.

Andrew RT Davies said it would be “weeks and months before the whole school environment opens” for all pupils in Wales, saying it was "deeply concerning”.

He said the UK government was allowing all pupils in England to return on 8 March and this shows “it can be done”.

“We know the disruption and the scarring that disruption in education has had on young people in Wales," Mr Davies said, adding it was important to get all pupils back into school as soon as possible.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams has pledged to work with schools in Wales to look at a “range of ways” to introduce pupils back to face-to-face learning “as safely as we can”.

She told journalists: “That potentially is looking at rotas, cutting class sizes, different types of timetabling so that children can get the face-to-face contact that they need, but looks to minimise the impact of opening up on the overall public health situation.”

But she added it was important to give schools and colleges “flexibility” in deciding “the options that work best for them”.

Image source, Getty Images

Wales' education minister has repeated her support for a shorter summer holiday for schools.

Kirsty Williams said Covid-19 "has amplified some of the challenges of prolonged periods outside of school".

She said there is "a discussion to be had about whether changing the academic year is the appropriate thing to do".

But Ms Williams told the Welsh Government press briefing the current priority was to get Welsh pupils back to the classroom over the next few months.

She added: "It is really important that we recognise the significant interruption to every child's education in Wales as a result of Covid and, despite the best efforts of teachers and support staff to keep our children and students learning, we have to acknowledge that interruption.

"We've already invested in excess of £30m in this academic year and we have 1,000 extra staff working in schools to address that interruption, but clearly we need to look in to the longer term as how we can support schools and support children."

Education Minister Kirsty Williams has said the Welsh Government will "balance needs" for the entire population in deciding which lockdown measures to ease.

On Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford indicated that some non-essential shops could reopen before all secondary pupils were back to face-to-face learning.

When asked about other areas of society opening before all children were back at school, Ms Williams said the government would "use what available headroom we have to prioritise children and young people - that will not change".

But she said there "may be other headroom that allows us to do other things".

"We also have to recognise the complexities of schools as organisations - they have potentially large numbers of pupils but also adults working in those circumstances."

Ms Williams said the government would "maximise face-to-face contact" but did not want to "jeopardise further disruption in those schools".

She added: "The top priority of this government is to get pupils back to face-to-face learning. The government will balance needs of the entire population."

Image source, PA Media

Education Minister Kirsty Williams says the Welsh Government has not received “any new evidence or advice that supports a different approach” on fully reopening schools.

While Wales is taking a phased approach which will not see all pupils back in school until after Easter, in England it is expected that all schools will be back after 8 March.

Ms Williams said: “Our phased and very careful approach is in line with the public health advice that I have received and in fact is also consistent with UK-wide advice.

“If there is different information and new information available which contradicts our careful approach then clearly we will want to consider that.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Chris Jones said “a cautious approach is the approach that we've been advising ministers in Wales".

“We know that opening schools will increase the R value,” he said, referring to the rate at which people pass the virus onto others.

“A cautious approach where we introduce the lowest-risk children back to school first, evaluate the impact of that, that will teach us a great deal", he added.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams says all pupils in Wales could be back in school after Easter, with those in years 11 to 13 and students in further education to be tested twice weekly for Covid.

“This testing will be done through lateral flow devices, which means they can be done from learners’ homes which will assist with the planned return of older pupils from 15 March”, she said.

The minister added: "We will confirm the situation for other learners before the Easter holidays.

"I can tell you that it is my preference to get all learners back in school after that break."

"I promise to provide further details on how this will look when I can do so".

Schools in Wales are due to reopen after the Easter break on 12 April.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams says if conditions continue to improve over the next three weeks then all primary school children could start to return to classrooms from 15 March.

She added: “At the same time, we would also like to see those in years 11 and 13 in schools, and those doing similar qualifications in colleges able to return to face-to-face learning in a safe and flexible way.

“Where possible, we also want to give some flexibility around other learners, such as Year 12 and those in Year 10 who may also have been entered for qualifications this summer.

“Unfortunately, for those learners in secondary settings or colleges this won’t necessarily be a return to full time on-site learning.

“However, we will do all we can to support these learners, because I know how anxious this time can be as they consider key decisions about their next steps in life."

The Welsh Government’s deputy chief medical officer says more than 860,000 people in Wales have had their first dose of the vaccine.

“This means over 25% of Wales’ population has had their first dose vaccination," Dr Chris Jones told the coronavirus press briefing.

“We continue to vaccinate more people as a percentage of our population than any of the other UK nations.

“We are still on track to reach the next milestone of offering vaccination to everyone in priority groups five to nine by the end of April, provided vaccine supplies remain on course."

Dr Jones added that more than 42,000 people had had a second dose.

Image source, EPA

Dr Chris Jones, Wales’s deputy chief medical officer, says there is “a steady and consistent fall” in the weekly number of new cases of coronavirus in Wales.

“We’ve fallen back from the peak of over 600 cases per 100,000 people back in December to around 80 cases today," he said.

“This is significantly lower than at previous points when schools and colleges were fully open.

“This is a national figure, but I am pleased to note that we are seeing significant decreases in the north east.

“Just in the last three weeks, Wrexham for example, has fallen from 300 cases per 100,000 to around 80 today,” he added.

Wales’ Education Minister Kirsty Williams says opening up schools and colleges is the Welsh Government’s “top priority”.

The country’s youngest pupils have returned to classrooms today along with some vocational learners going back to colleges across Wales.

Ms Williams told the Welsh Government’s coronavirus briefing: "As I have said many times, the opening up of education remains our top priority as a government, and I would like to thank everyone involved in making today’s return possible.

“I would also like to thank everyone in Wales for following the rules, and for the sacrifices you have made, which has given us the headroom we need to get learners back to schools and colleges.

“As the first minister indicated on Friday, we now want to go even further, in a phased and flexible way."

The Covid case rate across Wales has now fallen to 80 per 100,000 people, down from over 600 at its height in December.

These graphs of local authority case rates paints a clear picture of how far the situation has improved following the imposition of lockdown before Christmas.

Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Neath Port Talbot in particular have seen dramatic falls from peaks of over 1,000 cases per 100,000 in some cases.

It's a similar picture for Wrexham.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams is about to give a Welsh Government briefing on the pandemic, along with Wales' deputy chief medical officer Dr Chris Jones.

You can follow proceedings via the video link at the top of this page, or watch on BBC One Wales, BBC iPlayer or S4C.

This map showing local authority boundaries in Wales explains what proportion of primary schools in each area have had at least one Covid case registered during this academic year.

They were the surprise stars of the first lockdown - and now the Llandudno goats are back on the rampage.

The horned marauders have been spotted again in the north Wales resort while Covid restrictions keep people away.

The Kashmiri goats became a sensation when they left their normal home on the Great Orme headland for the town's empty streets in March.

The goats - who proved partial to garden bushes - were spotted again roaming the streets of Llandudno on Sunday.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The first results of the UK vaccination programme suggests it is having a "spectacular" impact on preventing serious illness.

Research led by Public Health Scotland found in the fourth week after the first dose hospitalisations were reduced by 85% and 94% for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs respectively.

Among the over 80s, there was an overall 81% reduction in the numbers admitted to hospital.

It is the first sign of the real-world impact of vaccination in the UK.

The total number of people who have received a first dose of vaccine against coronavirus in Wales now stands at 862,248.

Of those, 42,752 have received a second dose.

Figures from Public Health Wales show 90.5% of over-80s have had a first dose, and 92.6% of people aged between 75 and 79.

In addition, 91.9% of those aged 70-74 have had one, as well as 84.3% of those who are clinically extremely vulnerable aged between 16-64.

The data shows 27.3% of Wales' population has had a first dose and 1.35% have received a full vaccination.

Three health board areas have reported new deaths with Covid on Monday.

There have been five in the Hywel Dda area in mid and west Wales.

Cardiff and Vale, and Cwm Taf Morgannwg, both in south Wales, have each reported two, taking the total to nine.

A further nine people have died with Covid in Wales, figures reported to Public Health Wales have shown.

It takes the total number of deaths in a hospital or care home to 5,246.

There have also been an additional 319 cases reported, taking the total to 202,007.