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Parents in England and Wales are being urged to make sure their children are up-to-date with routine jabs after vaccine uptake dropped at the start of lockdown.

The Local Government Association, which represents local councils, said it was expecting an influx of children needing vaccinations when schools return in September.

A high vaccine uptake could prevent infections such as measles, meningitis and whooping cough, and avoid putting extra pressure on the NHS during the pandemic, the LGA said.

Councils called for a plan to ensure children get the vaccinations they need and to provide funding to allow GPs, clinics and schools to cope with demand.

Research by Public Health England found that during the first three weeks of lockdown, there was a 20% drop in the number of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccines given to young children. Numbers then rose again in late April.

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The Australian state of Victoria has reported a considerable drop in new cases, but officials have warned against complacency as the virus continues to spread in areas outside Melbourne.

"Every time a poor choice is made, even one that you might think really only affects you... can potentially mean hundreds of people get this virus and that many of those potentially finish up gravely ill in hospital," Premier Andrew Daniels said.

Brett Sutton, Victoria's chief health officer, said people needed to remain vigilant.

"I do think it's important that people understand that the actions that they have taken, especially in recent weeks, are showing up in our numbers now," Sutton said.

"And so people should have hope and confidence that the things that we know work are now manifesting in our daily counts."

Scotland's schools were the first in the UK to resume this week, but not every student is heading back after lockdown.

In Aberdeenshire, 12-year-old Aedan will continue to be taught at the kitchen table by mum Cheryl.

"We had never considered home education before lockdown but we realised that Aedan was happier, more engaged and producing a better quality of work," she said.

At high school, Aedan felt uncomfortable and his anxiety was having an impact on his learning. The decision not to go back "felt as if a weight came off my chest", he said.

"It was really stressful going there and at the end of the day, you'd be so exhausted. I don't have that here because it's just me."

Several councils have noticed a recent increase in applications to withdraw pupils from school.

One local authority said some of the requests were due to the perceived success of the home education experience during lockdown.

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Tens of thousands of demonstrators have filled the streets of South Korea's capital to voice their concerns on a wide range of issues, despite health officials' pleas to limit crowds amid a jump in coronavirus cases.

A total of 166 new infections were announced on Saturday - South Korea's highest single-day total in five months.

Seoul city authorities had successfully blocked the approvals for most demonstrations through the courts, arguing they violated virus restrictions, but some rallies were permitted.

One church group hosting a large protest decrying the policies of the Moon Jae-in government is also the centre of a virus cluster, with 130 cases recorded among church members so far.

The church pastor appealed to supporters over social media, resulting in a far-bigger crowd at the rally than the police expected.

Image source, Family handout

When lockdown began, the situation for my grandad Martin - who has dementia - only worsened. He had no understanding of the virus and the changes and restrictions it brought.

Our family's situation is not uncommon: more than 300,000 people with dementia are living in care homes across the UK, according to Alzheimer's Research UK.

Covid guidelines, which allow limited visiting, at a distance, are designed to keep this vulnerable community safe. But the flipside is families being kept apart from their loved ones, unable to do anything to counter their decline.

Video calls left grandad more confused than when we'd begun; he could scarcely focus on the screen and struggled to understand where our voices were coming from.

The only thing which seemed to cut through was the repetition of a simple message, "I love you, Martin". To which he could still reflexively respond, "I love you too, Bubala."

By the time his home was able to permit visitors, his stark decline was clear to my granny. Sunken-cheeked and unable to speak - he was barely recognisable as the man who had left their home just six weeks before.

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One of the people caught up in the UK government's new quarantine restrictions was BBC journalist Pia Harold, who was in the Netherlands with her family. She recorded this video diary of their last-minute journey back to Dover.

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If you're in England and mulling over your weekend plans, you've got a few extra options from today. As some coronavirus restrictions are eased - changes that were originally intended for two weeks ago but put on hold due to rising cases – more businesses are opening up.

Here's what to expect:

• Indoor theatre, music and performance venues are able to reopen with socially distanced audiences
• Wedding receptions in the form of a sit-down meal for up to 30 guests are permitted
• Audiences will be back at the final of the World Snooker Championship at Sheffield's Crucible this weekend, the first of the spectator sport pilots to resume
• Casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks and soft play centres are able to reopen
• "Close contact" beauty services such as facials, eyebrow threading, eyelash treatments, make-up application and microblading can resume

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Indian PM Narendra Modi has said the country is ready to mass produce vaccines for the virus when scientists give the go-ahead.

"Not one, not two, as many as three coronavirus vaccines are being tested in India," Modi said during an Independence Day speech.

"Along with mass-production, the roadmap for distribution of vaccine to every single Indian in the least possible time is also ready," he added.

"The country is also ready for mass production of those vaccines."

India has the world's fourth-highest death toll at more than 49,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

If you have to observe a 14-day isolation period after travelling from certain countries, here's what you need to know.

Reality Check

Earlier we reported that Russia had begun production of a new vaccine.

The first announcements earlier this week about Sputnik V, as it is called, have generated a great deal of both misinformation and humour on social media platforms.

We've been looking at some of the more widely shared posts.

Putin the superhero

There have been many satirical memes shared in a range of languages. Some continue the well-worn theme of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a superhero, such as Spiderman or Ironman, saving the world.

One of the most popular being shared portrays Mr Putin riding a bear with a giant syringe strapped to his back.

Image source, Facebook

A reputation for exaggeration

Another post that also proved popular on Facebook claims that Russia has "repeatedly saved the world with its vaccines".

"This is a major overstatement" says Dr Dora Vargha, a historian and expert in Cold War-era disease control.

The post lists several vaccinations that were "invented" in Russia, among them those for cholera and polio, though these were discovered elsewhere.

Read more here.

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Quarantine measures imposed on France by the UK have now come into force.

The Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba have also been removed from the UK government's list of countries exempt from quarantine rules., external

But can you still go on holiday to these countries?

If the new rules will affect your ability to work when you return to the UK, it could mean having to cancel your trip.

In cases where only quarantine rules are changed, you are unlikely to be able to get your money back from tour operators, airlines or hotels.

However, if the Foreign Office also advises against travel to a country - as is now the case for France - then a refund for the whole holiday or the opportunity to rearrange it should be granted.

Some people are exempt from the quarantine rules,, external including Eurotunnel train drivers, road haulage workers and military personnel.

Read more here

Students in England have been speaking out about the impact of the A-level grades awarded by an algorithm, which has left some of them with dramatically worse results than expected and caused them to miss out on university places.

Samantha Smith from Telford told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that her expected results of As and A* grades became a B, an E and a U due to a moderation process introduced after exams were cancelled.

She said the system, which was more likely to downgrade teacher-assessed grades in large schools and colleges and less likely to change them in private schools, felt "as if your postcode matters more than your potential".

Prof Laura Ashe, admissions tutor at Oxford University's Worcester College, said her institution had decided to admit all students with an offer of a place, because the grades could not be relied upon.

The algorithm "literally copied the inequalities that are currently existing in our education system", she said.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he was investigating legal grounds to challenge the grading system, because it was "straightforwardly discriminatory" against working class and ethnic minority students who are more likely to attend large, urban sixth form colleges.

"I cannot stand by and see thousands of lives ruined across Greater Manchester," he told BBC Breakfast.

The government has promised a "robust" appeals system.

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Travellers entering the UK from France and the Netherlands will face a 14-day quarantine when they arrive from Saturday.

The UK government's decision follows a surge in cases in the countries affected in recent days.

So what are the quarantine rules?

Travellers from affected countries - including UK nationals - are asked to provide an address where they will self-isolate for 14 days. They can be fined £100 for failing to provide these details.

One in five eligible passengers will be called or texted to check they are following the rules.

People who do not self-isolate can be fined up to £1,000 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and £480 in Scotland. There are fines of up to £5,000 for persistent offenders.

Passengers should drive their own car to their destination if possible. If they don't provide an address, the government will arrange accommodation at the traveller's expense.

Once at their destination, they must not use public transport or taxis during the quarantine period. They must also not go to work, school, or public areas, or have visitors except for essential support.

Nor are they allowed to go out to buy food, or other essentials, if they can rely on others.

People returning from overseas will not be automatically eligible for statutory sick pay during this period, unless they meet the required conditions - for example, displaying coronavirus symptoms.

The full list of countries exempt from quarantine rules, external has been updated regularly.

The government has published a list of ''lower risk'', external countries that can be visited without the need to self-isolate on returning to England.

Read more on the quarantine rules here.

Some of the last UK travellers to make it home before the 04:00 BST deadline when quarantine restrictions were imposed on France, the Netherlands and several other locations have said the short notice risked making them rush "dangerously".

Kim Wells and his family made it into Newhaven from Dieppe in northern France with just eight minutes to spare, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme that announcing the decision late at night with just 30 hours' notice was "pretty unrealistic".

"I don't really understand why they can't be a little bit more clear with the public about what the tipping point is, when we might perhaps be approaching the need to quarantine."

He said the government should give people 48 or 72 hours' notice so that people who need to return home can do so "without rushing dangerously".

Kate Mooney and her family decided to make the journey back to Cornwall a week early, arriving about 01:00 BST, after contemplating the impact of two weeks' isolation.

"Our immediate response was 'let's just stay and finish our holiday', and then we started to really consider what quarantine meant," she told BBC Breakfast.

"There would be no way we could leave the house... that's when we decided we would come back."

Russia's health ministry says it has begun production of a new vaccine.In a press release, the ministry said the vaccine would be rolled out at the end of the month.

Many experts fear that Russia may be compromising safety by fast-tracking the vaccine.In Russia, an independent poll has revealed that over a half of medics said were not ready to get vaccinated as they do not trust it.

President Vladimir Putin previously said it had passed all the required checks, adding that his daughter had already been vaccinated.

The vaccine has been named Sputnik V in honour of the world's first satellite. Sputnik is the Russian word for satellite.

Image source, Reuters

To get you up to speed with your morning coffee, here’s a quick round-up of the main stories from the UK:

• The last holidaymakers to race out of France in order to avoid new quarantine measures imposed by the UK arrived on British shores just before the deadline at 04:00 BST. A passenger on one of the last ferries said the government needed to provide more warning so people were not “rushing dangerously” to avoid 14 days of isolation.
• Schools in England are being offered free appeals against A-level grades, awarded by an algorithm in the absence of exams, after widespread complaints of unfairness. It comes as a student whose results had been marked down by three grades told Schools Minister Nick Gibb: "You have ruined my life.”
• Bowling alleys, soft play centres and casinos are able to reopen today in England as further coronavirus restrictions are relaxed. The easing of lockdown measures had previously been delayed for two weeks due to rising virus cases.
• Parents are being urged to ensure that their children’s vaccinations are up to date, after the early weeks of lockdown saw a 20% drop in the number of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. Local councils say keeping vaccination rates high can help prevent other serious infections and take pressure off the NHS during the pandemic.
• Pupils from two schools in North Lanarkshire in Scotland have tested positive for coronavirus. The outbreak is the second linked to schools since pupils began to return this week.
• Health officials in South Wales have launched a bilingual AI assistant to provide people with the latest advice on coronavirus. They claim it can also understand users moods - from a set of seven emotions - and respond appropriately.

Image source, Getty Images

We're starting our coronavirus live page coverage for the day. Here’s a round-up of the most recent developments from around the globe:

• Quarantine measures imposed on France by the UK came into force at 0400 BST on Saturday
• The 14-day isolation requirement also applied to people arriving from the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba
• France has warned it will take "reciprocal measures" while the Netherlands warned against all but essential travel to the UK once the restrictions came into force on Saturday
• Crime in South Africa dropped by up to 40% during the first three months of its lockdown, official figures show
• New Zealand has reported seven new cases of the virus in Auckland after a lockdown was extended for almost two weeks in the city
• The Australian state of Victoria has recorded 303 new cases and four deaths - state authorities have urged continued vigilance despite signs the outbreak is past its peak