The total number of positive coronavirus tests recorded in the UK now stands at 5,022,893
The UK government says double-jabbed people won't have to self-isolate when arriving from amber countries from 19 July
Children under the age of 18 will also not need to quarantine, the transport secretary announces
But Grant Shapps says these travellers will still need to take Covid tests
The move will affect people returning to England - the other UK nations will decide their own measures
"The summer season essentially starts here," says Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK
But Heathrow Airport boss John Holland-Kaye says the UK should open up travel to fully-vaccinated people from more countries
The Tokyo Olympics will not be open to spectators, as a state of emergency is declared in the Japanese capital
The £20 universal credit "Covid boost" is being phased out in autumn
That's all from us today. Your coronavirus updates for this busy Thursday have been brought to you by Jo Couzens, Mary O'Connor, Jennifer Meierhans, Owen Amos, Alex Kleiderman and James Clarke.
Our live updates on coronavirus are coming to an end soon so here's a recap on the day's news.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the third wave of coronavirus cases facing Africa could get worse as new and faster spreading variants drive infections.
The highly transmissible Delta variant first identified in India is spreading to more and more countries.
New weekly cases have now overtaken the highest weekly numbers recorded during the peak of the second wave in January this year.
Meanwhile, only slightly more than 1% of the continent has been fully vaccinated.
New cases have been increasing for seven weeks running and rose by an average of 28% week-on-week over the past month, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The WHO says more than 251,000 new cases were recorded in the week ending 4 July, making it the "worst pandemic week ever".
There are 23 countries on the continent that have so far experienced a third wave of infections, including Senegal and Malawi.
Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Zambia, Rwanda and Tunisia have been among the worst hit by a recent resurgence in infections.
South Africa is also reporting a sustained increase in cases, with Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located, leading with infections.
You can read Reality Check's full analysis of the situation here.
Image source, Getty ImagesHealth boards in Scotland should consider cancelling non-urgent procedures to reduce pressure on hospitals, a senior public health official has said.
Jillian Evans, head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian, said it would "make sense" to defer some operations.
It comes after two hospitals reached full capacity in the north east.
NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Highland have also reported pressure on services in recent days.
And NHS Highland cancelled all non-urgent elective surgery and most outpatient activity at Inverness' Raigmore Hospital amid growing pressure.
The health boards said self-isolation requirements meant that a number of staff who were double vaccinated had to stay off after being in contact with the virus outside of work.
Read more here.
Image source, ECDCThe latest map from the EU’s disease monitoring agency, the ECDC, shows the EU’s new Covid hotspots: Portugal, Spain and Cyprus.
Most parts of those countries have infection rates above 120 per 100,000 people, registered over the past 14 days. The more contagious Delta variant is responsible for this, health officials say.
Spain’s infection rate nationally has more than doubled in a week, to 252 cases per 100,000. The highest rate is in the 20-29 age group, most of whom have not been vaccinated.
Spain's Catalonia region has reimposed curbs on nightlife and Portugal has reintroduced night curfews. France has warned its citizens against travel to those countries.
You can see the ECDC’s latest data in full here., external
Image source, Getty ImagesThe National Education Union is calling on ministers to urgently set out the potential negative health repercussions of easing Covid restrictions in England's schools and schools this autumn.
In a letter to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, the joint general secretaries of the UK's largest teaching union, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, point out that Covid infections could rise again as schools reopen in September, if the government's policy is based "just on hope".
It comes after Williamson said the system of sending "bubbles" of children home after a positive case would cease at the end of summer term.
The bubble system had been necessary to limit virus spread but was now causing disruption to pupils' lives, he added.
It comes as figures revealed a sharp rise in the number of pupils being sent home from school in England due to Covid.
The NEU's letter adds: "We are asking these questions because we believe that should cases continue to rise, with negative health consequences in the autumn term, that you have a plan and can act quickly and decisively."
Coronavirus is continuing to spread around the world, with more than 180 million infections and four million deaths recorded across nearly 200 countries.
Confirmed cases have been rising steeply since the middle of last year, but the true extent of the first outbreaks in 2020 is unclear because testing was not then widely available.
Deaths have also been rising, however official figures may not fully reflect the true number in many countries.
Several coronavirus vaccines have been approved for use, either by individual countries or groups of countries, such as the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Some 193 countries and territories have been administering vaccines and publishing rollout data.
Take a look at the charts below for more detail on the coronavirus picture around the world.
As the UK passes the five million mark for coronavirus cases confirmed through a positive test the government is braced for a surge in new infections after restrictions are eased in England - likely to be on 19 July.
Earlier this week Health Secretary Sajid Javid said new coronavirus cases “could go as high as 100,000” per day, after social distancing rules end.
But yesterday, the prime minister defended the government's approach to easing England's lockdown, saying the link between infection and serious disease and death has been "severed".
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Boris Johnson said: "Currently there are only a 30th of the deaths that we were seeing at an equivalent position in previous waves of this pandemic."
The government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance was more cautious, saying vaccines had "weakened the link between cases and hospitalisations, but it's a weakened link, not a completely broken link".
Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, China Media Analyst
Image source, ReutersTaiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) has announced that from next week, a number of restrictions will be lifted as cases of Covid-19 continue to fall.
Restaurants, night markets and food courts will be allowed to open for indoor dining from 13 July, provided they comply with CECC social distancing guidelines, the Taiwan News website reports., external
Art galleries, museums and cinemas will also be allowed to open, as well as most indoor and outdoor sports venues. However, visitors must comply with local track and trace procedures, comply with social distancing and wear a mask where appropriate. , external
In the past 24 hours, Taiwan has recorded 18 new cases of Covid-19, and three deaths., external Today’s statistics are on par with those recorded in early May, before the island went into near lockdown due to a spike in cases.
Taiwan has four Covid-19 response levels, with Level 4 being a full, national lockdown. Level 3 mean all non-essential businesses are closed and a mask-mandate is in place. These rules have been in place since 15 May in New Taipei and Taipei City, and nationally since 20 May.
They will continue to be in place until at least 26 July, meaning many other venues, including schools, bars and clubs, will remain closed until at least then.
Image source, Getty ImagesTravel bosses have cautiously welcomed the announcement that fully vaccinated travellers returning from amber-list countries will not have to self-isolate after 19 July.
But EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said he did not want to see "a return to flying being a preserve of the rich".
"Expensive testing could sadly make travel out of reach for some," he said.
Airlines and airports said millions of people could have a more normal summer, but the government should do more.
The need to quarantine on return had hindered a travel industry recovery. Under previous rules, those returning to Britain from its top destinations, Spain, France, the US and Italy, all had to self-isolate for up to 10 days.
Read the full story and more industry reaction here.
Covid infection rates across all regions of England are at their highest level since at least February, according to Public Health England's latest surveillance report.
The highest case rate is being seen in north-east England, with 613.4 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 4 July.
It is the highest figure for the region since like for like figures began in the summer of last year, as mass testing was rolled out across the country.
Meanwhile, all the other regions are seeing their highest rate since late January or early February - with the exception of Yorkshire and the Humber where the rate is the highest since mid-November last year.
Today's number of new positive coronavirus tests has pushed the UK total over the course of the pandemic, by that measure, to more than five million.
The UK reported 32,551 new infections in the last 24 hours, up from 32,548 yesterday when it was the first day that cases rose above 30,000 since 24 January.
This means the total number of positive tests for the coronavirus in the UK, according to the government data, is 5,022,893.
But in the early days of the pandemic last year when it was harder to get a test, many people would have been likely to have had the virus but not tested positive for it - so the total number of cases could never be known and may be a fair bit higher.
Just over a quarter of a million coronavirus vaccinations were given in the UK yesterday - 86,953 first doses and 171,477 second jabs.
The UK has now given a total of 79,800,224 coronavirus vaccinations, according to the government's daily statistics., external
That's 45,601,445 first doses and 34,198,779 second doses.
The rules on foreign travel and self-isolation are soon going to change for people who have had both jabs.
There have been a further 35 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK, according to the government's daily figures., external
This brings the total number of people to die within 28 days of a positive Covid test to 128,336.
There were also another 32,551 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours.
The Shearwater field is east of Aberdeen
More than 80 people have been flown ashore from a North Sea oil and gas platform following a Covid outbreak.
Fifteen positive cases have been identified on the Safe Zephyrus floating hotel next to the Shell-owned Shearwater platform in the past week.
Shell says those who tested positive along with 70 identified close contacts have been removed from the facility, 140 miles (225km) east of Aberdeen.
The company says there has been no disruption to production.
More than 60 people were flown ashore from the Shearwater field in April after a Covid outbreak.
Read more on this story here.
Caroline Davies
Transport correspondent
Image source, EPAFor the first time in a while, travel bosses are relatively pleased.
Today’s announcement is a big change, opening up international travel far more significantly that has been possible this year.
However, there are limitations.
This policy only applies to those jabbed in the UK, meaning those jabbed abroad will still have to quarantine if coming from an amber list country.
That will affect some family and friends hoping to reunite and impact on businesses that rely on international visitors who won’t see those customers return in the same numbers as UK travellers will leave.
Tests are still required from green and amber list countries. The cost will dissuade some from travelling.
Crucially, this rule is just about what happens when people travel to the UK - whether other countries will let UK travellers in is a different matter altogether.
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesEarlier, we reported that Japan had declared a state of emergency in Tokyo to combat coronavirus - measures that will be in place during the Olympic Games later this month.
We've since got more detail on what that will mean, with Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa announcing the Games will happen without spectators following discussions today with officials and organisers.
Bars and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol and must close by 20:00 (11:00 GMT).
After meeting government officials, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto says: "It is regrettable that we are delivering the Games in a very limited format, facing the spread of coronavirus infections.
"I am sorry to those who purchased tickets and everyone in local areas."
The Olympic Games are scheduled to take place in the Japanese capital between 23 July and 8 August.
There has been widespread opposition to the Games in Japan, with calls for them to be postponed or cancelled.
You can read more here.
Image source, PA MediaToday's announcement on travel "finally signals" a meaningful restart to international travels and is the news that UK holidaymakers have been looking forward to, says Jet2's boss.
Chief executive Steve Heapy says: "Instead of a handful of destinations to choose from, this news means our customers can plan and look forward to flights and holidays across 40 green and amber list destinations this summer."
He says: "With the government looking to unlock restrictions from 19 July, we have been calling for international travel not to be left behind, so this is an extremely positive step forward for the travel industry."
Heapy looks forward to the Scottish and Northern Ireland governments "following suit", he says.
Meanwhile, the UK Chamber of Shipping Chief Executive Bob Sanguinetti says: “Millions of people enjoy travelling by ferry and we are pleased to see that entry restrictions are being eased for UK nationals who have been fully vaccinated.
"This is a positive step in the right direction and this decision will benefit our ferry members and their passengers who can now book their travel with much greater confidence."
You can read more reaction to the new travel rules here.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in England, the number of exposure alerts sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app has risen by more than 60%, according to the latest contact tracing figures.
A total of 356,036 alerts were sent to users of the app in England in the week to June 30, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.
This is up from 219,391 the previous week - a jump of 62% - and is the highest weekly figure since data was first published in January.
Ministers have been warned that millions of people could be "pinged" by the app or ordered to self-isolate by Test and Trace, with infections expected to hit around 100,000 cases a day in the summer.
Earlier, Chancellor Rishi Sunak had acknowledged public "frustration" and said that Health Secretary Sajid Javid is looking at an "appropriate, balanced and proportionate" approach for the app.
Read more: Millions could be self-isolating between now and 16 August
Image source, ReutersHeathrow Airport boss John Holland-Kaye has welcomed the change in rules for UK residents returning from amber-list countries - but says the "job isn't done".
Following the transport secretary's announcement, he says: "This is excellent news that will give a much-needed boost to millions of people across Britain looking forward to a more normal summer and reuniting with family and friends abroad."
Holland-Kaye says "Global Britain needs to get trading again", adding: "US business can get to the EU, but the UK remains cut off."
The airport's chief executive says the UK should open up travel to fully-vaccinated people from more countries - particularly key partners in the US - by the end of July, adding: "If the EU can do it, so can the UK."
He says the airport is working closely with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to demonstrate changes can happen safely, with checks on departure, and no need for delays at immigration on arrival.