Summary for Sunday, 28th March
- Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said the Moderna vaccine is expected to be rolled out in the UK in April
- Mr Dowden also said he "fully expects" the UK to host the biggest moments of this summer's Uefa's European Championships
- He said he had 'every confidence' that this was England's last lockdown - but experience taught him 'you can't rule things out'
- Lorry drivers travelling to England from outside the UK, who stay for two days or more, will be required to take a Covid test
- The chief medical director at NHS England is warning people not to "squander the gains" made in the latest lockdown
- Prof Stephen Powis says progress made so far "does not mean job done"
- In the latest step of the government's roadmap, curbs on outdoor gatherings and sports ease in England from Monday
- A group of charities is urging the prime minister to "swiftly clarify" how many Covid vaccine doses the UK is prepared to donate to poorer countries
- Poland has reported 29,253 new coronavirus cases on Sunday - up 34% compared with one week ago
- Facebook freezes Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's page after he claimed without evidence that a herbal remedy could cure Covid
- A further 4,715 coronavirus cases were reported across the UK on Saturday, alongside 58 new deaths
- There have been 126,726,308 Covid cases around the world, and 2,777,336 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University
Good morning
Hello and welcome to our live coronavirus coverage this Sunday morning. We’ll bring you all the latest updates as they happen throughout the day.Here are the key global developments from the last few hours:
- Germany must suppress virus now or risk losing control, Merkel aide says. Germany must bring down coronavirus infections in the next few weeks or risk new virus mutations that are resistant to vaccines, and should impose night-time curfews in regions with high caseloads, said a top aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
- Ukraine’s daily Covid hospitalisations rise to record high. A record number of Ukrainians were taken to hospital with Covid over the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Sunday as the country grapples with a surge in infections.
- Brazil Covid-19 death toll exceeds 3,000 for second day. Brazil recorded 85,948 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 3,438 deaths from Covid-19, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, the second day in a row fatalities have exceeded 3,000.
- Queensland authorities say man had not hosted party. Queensland authorities say a man who later tested positive for Covid-19 had not hosted a party while he was supposed to be isolating, drastically reducing the potential for a cluster in the state to expand.
- Half a million Australians vaccinated. More than half a million Australians have now been vaccinated against Covid, with the rollout boosted by the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Melbourne.
- Hong Kong says initial investigation of BioNTech vaccines shows no ‘obvious systemic factors’. Hong Kong’s government said an initial investigation by Germany’s BioNTech and Fosun Industrial into its coronavirus vaccine did not show any “obvious systemic factors” during packaging after use of the vaccine was suspended in the city and neighbouring Macau this week.
- More than 2.5 million people in England have had second Covid jab. More than 2.5 million people in England have now received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with more than one-in-three of those taking place in the last week.
- Mexico death toll revised by 60% to 321,000. Mexico’s government acknowledged Saturday that the country’s true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic now stands above 321,000, almost 60% more than the official test-confirmed number of 201,429. Mexico does little testing, and because hospitals were overwhelmed, many Mexicans died at home without getting a test. The only way to get a clear picture is to review “excess deaths” and review death certificates.
- Saudi Arabia daily Covid cases climb back above 500. Daily coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia have risen above 500 for the first time since October and the health ministry on Saturday blamed the increase on gatherings and laxity in complying with preventive measures such as social distancing.
- Facebook has frozen Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s page for violating policies against spreading misinformation about Covid-19 by promoting a remedy he claims, without evidence, can cure the disease, a company spokesman said.
- More than 150,000 people have died from coronavirus in the UK, according to a Guardian analysis.
- Turkey has recorded 30,021 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the highest number this year, Reuters reports.
- Italy reported 380 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday compared with 457 the day before, the health ministry said. The daily tally of infections fell slightly to 23,839 from 23,987 the day before, Reuters reports.
- France has recorded 42,619 new cases on Saturday compared with 41,869 cases on Friday, Reuters reports. The total number has surpassed 4.5 million.
- Allowing international air travel without testing at UK airports risks reversing “all the good our vaccination programme has done”, an infectious diseases expert has warned. He called for efficient testing and tracing at airport and supporting people to self-isolate.
- The Philippines will reimpose tougher coronavirus measures in the capital of Manila and nearby provinces, a senior official said on Saturday in order to fight a surge in infections.
- Spain will require people arriving from France by land to present a negative Covid-19 test following a rise in Spain’s infection rate. The requirement will not apply to truck drivers, people who cross the border for work, and people who live within 30km of Spain.
- Brazil’s coronavirus situation is likely to deteriorate even further, experts have warned, forecasting that the nation’s death toll will pass the United States’ by the end of the year.
- The World Health Organization says it has not ruled out any theory on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, despite one top official earlier this week appearing to dismiss the idea it had escaped from a laboratory.
- Indonesia’s vaccination drive will slow down next month due to India’s delay in exporting AstraZeneca vaccines, its health minister has said. India has temporarily suspended large vaccines exports as it seeks to step up its own inoculation efforts amid surging infections.
- Ireland’s health minister has suspended vaccination provision at a private hospital in Dublin after it emerged that it administered spare jabs to staff at a private school.
- NHS England has passed the milestone of 25m first vaccine doses administered across the country, after a further 344,008 people received a shot.