Coronavirus - 27th February 2021

• UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak says he'll use the Budget to level with people about the state of the economy in the wake of the coronavirus crisis
  
• Sunak has told the Financial Times the UK's finances have been "exposed" by the pandemic
  
• President Joe Biden's $1.9tn (£1.4tn) relief plan to help Americans during the pandemic is approved in the House of Representatives
  
• A private family funeral for Captain Sir Tom Moore who raised more than £33m for NHS charities during lockdown last year, takes place today
  
• Captain Sir Tom died aged 100 on 2 February after contracting coronavirus
  
• People are reacting to news the next phase of the UK's vaccine rollout will be based on age rather than occupation, with those in their 40s next in line
  
• A further 345 deaths in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test were announced on Friday
  

Good morning

• A private funeral will be held for Captain Sir Tom Moore on Saturday. The 100-year-old veteran, who raised almost £33m for NHS charities, died with coronavirus on 2 February. His funeral will have full military honours and an RAF fly-past, as well as a specially written song by Michael Buble. Churches across the country will ring their bells 100 times at 12:00 GMT
  
• The government will offer incentives to lenders, bringing back 95% mortgages, which have "virtually disappeared" during the pandemic, the Treasury says. It comes as Chancellor Rishi Sunak says he will use Wednesday's Budget to level with people about the pandemic's impact on the economy
  
• The UK's decision to prioritise vaccination by age rather than by occupation is still making headlines this morning. Announcing it yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it will "save most lives" and added "teachers are no more likely to catch Covid than any other member of the population who goes to work” and prioritising one professional group over another would be “complicated”. Unions representing teachers and police have criticised the decision
  
• Some areas of the UK are "burning quite hot" with rising levels of new coronavirus infections, according to England's deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam. Hotspots in the Midlands and east and west coast of England, and some parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, are bucking the general trend for decreasing infections. Prof Van-Tam warned people not to wreck the success of the vaccine rollout by relaxing the rules too early.
  

What the papers say

• The Financial Times says Rishi Sunak will make clear supporting the economy through the coronavirus pandemic has left the UK with a "bill that will have to be paid".
  
• The Chancellor is urging Tory colleagues to show their support for his "tough message" with tax rises “likely”.
  
• The Times describes government plans for a new mortgage guarantee scheme as a boost for first-time buyers, giving "tens of thousands of young people" their first step on the ladder.
  
• The Daily Mail reports it has received letters from more than 100 readers who all claim their relatives' deaths were wrongly attributed to coronavirus. Several MPs and doctors are calling for an inquiry, amid concerns Covid-19 is sometimes being given undue prominence on death certificates.
  
• The i weekend newspaper and the Daily Express both focus on the government's latest coronavirus briefing after it was announced the over-40s will be the next priority group for vaccination.
  
• "Don't wreck it now" is the headline in the Express - echoing a warning from England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam that the battle against the virus is far from won.
  

Summary of recent worldwide events from The Guardian:

• US president Joe Biden has that Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations could go back up as new variants emerge, and urged people that now was “not the time to relax”. Cases have been increasing in the US for the past three days compared to last week.
  
• Brazil’s capital Brasilia entered a ‘total’ 24-hour lockdown on Friday amid a worsening virus outbreak that is threatening to overwhelm hospitals.
  
• Israel’s drop in coronavirus infections has reversed and the country’s R rate is inching toward 1 again, as Israel continues to reopen its economy after exiting a six-week lockdown.
  
• The Czech government has approved a series of strict restrictions limiting people’s movement over the next three weeks and tightening shop and school closures in an attempt to slow fast spreading Covid-19 infections.
  
• Nigeria and Honduras are both expecting their first vaccine deliveries from the COVAX programme, with Nigeria set to receive 4 million doses next week and Honduras nearly 430,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in March.
  
• Ireland has added 13 mainly Central and South American countries to its 14-day mandatory quarantine list, which will soon require arrivals from countries designated as “high risk” to quarantine in designated hotels.
  

Biden's Covid relief bill passes House vote

Auckland locks down as one new case detected

Russia reports 11,534 new Covid-19 cases

Turkey's ruling party criticised for holding public rallies in high infection areas

Portugal extends UK and Brazil flight suspension

Restrictions to be extended in the Philippines capital Manila

How would an NHS vaccine passport app work?

Wales reaches vaccine milestone of one million doses

India in a 'delicate phase' as Covid cases surge

Oxygen explosion in Ukraine hospital kills one person and another is wounded

Growing prevalence of highly contagious new variants in Italy

Italy has established a four-tier colour-coded system (white, yellow, orange and red) which allows for measures to be calibrated according to infection levels, with assessments revised every week.
For the first time since the end of January, two regions - Basilicata and Molise - were shunted into the strictest red zone. This means bars and restaurants must be shuttered, movement severely restricted and all but essential shops closed.
Three regions moved from yellow to orange zones: Lombardy and Piedmont, which are centred on the wealthy northern cities of Milan and Turin respectively, and the central coastal region of Marche.
In these areas restaurants and bars are closed except for takeaways and people are not allowed to leave their towns except for emergencies, work and health reasons.
The island of Sardinia became the first region to be named a white zone, with only minimal restrictions. Today’s decision means that as of Monday, when it becomes effective, two regions will be classified as red, nine as orange, eight as yellow and one as white.
Yesterday, the health ministry signalled a continued rise in infections, with 20,499 new daily cases, up from 19,886 the day before. Over the last five days, new cases have increased by 35% by comparison with the same period last week.

Irish police attacked at Dublin lockdown protest

What's been happening today?

• Tributes have been paid to Captain Sir Tom Moore as his funeral took place in Bedford today. Hannah Ingram-Moore described her father as a "beacon of light" while Lucy Teixeira, his other daughter, said: "You may be gone but your message and your spirit lives on"
  
• The 100-year-old, who died earlier this month after being diagnosed with coronavirus, had raised nearly £33m for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden
  
• A woman has described the "horrific" anguish of losing both parents to Covid, just two weeks apart. Ray and Rosemary Scovell, from Sandown on the Isle of Wight, had been looking forward to their golden wedding anniversary
  
• In the UK,19,682,048 people have now had a first coronavirus vaccine and 768,810 have had a second dose
  
• There have been another 7,434 new cases of coronavirus reported in the UK in the past 24 hours and another 290 deaths of people who had tested positive in the previous 28 days
  
• President Joe Biden's $1.9tn (£1.4tn) relief plan to help Americans during the Covid pandemic has been approved in the House of Representatives. The bill must now go to the Senate, which has already blocked a key element - doubling the US minimum wage to $15 an hour.
  

Today's live page team has been: James Clarke, Victoria Lindrea, Hamish Mackay and Lauren Turner. We'll be back with more tomorrow.