Coronavirus - 3rd May 2021

• The easing of restrictions in Wales sees some families and friends able to hug again and the reopening of gyms
  
• Two households, plus another living on their own, can form a bubble from Monday and have contact indoors
  
• There will be no limit for the number of funeral mourners in England from 17 May under new plans
  
• A pilot event in Liverpool has seen 5,000 music fans attend a mini-festival
  
• India's Covid crisis continues, with hospitals in Delhi pleading for more help with oxygen supplies
  
• The UK recorded 1,671 new cases on Sunday and 14 deaths within 28 days of a positive test
  
• Globally, there have been 152,871,267 recorded cases since the pandemic began and 3,202,541 deaths
  

• Wales is seeing the relaxation of some coronavirus restrictions today. Two households, plus another living on their own, can now form a "bubble" to meet and have contact indoors
  
• Gyms, swimming pools and community centres can also reopen, as can organised children's indoor activities like parent and baby classes
  
• In England, the limit on numbers of funeral mourners is set to be removed by the government on 17 May
  
• Any number will be allowed as long as they can safely socially distance
  
• Weddings in England will be limited to 30 guests from the same date - up from the current limit of 15 - with unlimited numbers allowed from June
  
• Hospitals in Delhi continued to send desperate messages for emergency oxygen supplies through the night on Sunday, warning that patients are at risk
  
• A pilot concert in Liverpool has seen 5,000 people - with no masks on and not socially distanced - attend a mini-festival
  
• Millions of Muslims around the world are currently observing Ramadan but some mosques in the UK not allowing women inside to pray this month. Most say it is because of coronavirus restrictions
  

What's the latest from around Europe?

• France is joining a number of European countries in loosening its coronavirus restrictions. From today, a domestic travel ban is no longer in force, and middle and high school pupils are allowed to return to in-person teaching
  
• Bars and restaurants are also reopening in Greece for the first time since a lockdown began in November. Customer numbers will be limited but the country's overnight curfew has been shortened by an hour to accommodate evening diners. Greece’s prime minister has previously said he hopes the country will be able to open later next week for tourists who have been vaccinated or tested negative
  
• On Saturday, Portugal ended its state of emergency to allow the reopening of land borders with Spain and extended opening hours in shops and restaurants. However, the government has extended travel restrictions for countries with high levels of infections until 16 May
  

The latest from around the world

• India has reported more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases for the 12th straight day. Hospital beds and oxygen supplies are continuing to run short across the country - where elections have been held amid government criticism
  
• International aid, including oxygen equipment and ventilators, is continuing to arrive in the country amid desperate shortages
  
• Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended Australia's threat to jail anyone arriving from India amid criticism the country's policy is racist
  
• Elsewhere, people living in New Zealand will be able to visit the Cook Islands without having to quarantine from 17 May as part of a new two-way travel bubble announced on Monday
  
• Britain will send another 1,000 ventilators to India, the government announced on Sunday, stepping up its support as India’s healthcare system struggles to cope with the surge of positive Covid-19 cases.
  
• Saudi Arabia to open land, sea, and air borders as of 17 May, the interior minister announces on Twitter.
  
• Oman to ban the movement of people and vehicles from 7 pm to 4 am from May 8 to May 15, the state news agency said.
  
• South Africa to get the first delivery of its 4.5 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccines as the country begins to increase its vaccination efforts.
  
• The English city of Liverpool hosted a one-off music festival to test whether significant events spread Covid-19. Nearly 5,000 people took off their masks and ditched social distancing rules in the name of science and music.
  
• A maximum of 1,000 fans will be allowed on-court at Roland Garros this year, with capacity capped at 35%.
  
• India recorded a number of deaths on Sunday. New coronavirus cases fell slightly on Sunday but deaths due to the infection jumped by a record 3,689, with one more state going into lockdown as the nation’s healthcare system struggles to cope with a massive caseload.
  
• Secondary school pupils in England will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations from September under plans being developed by the NHS, according to The Sunday Times. It reports that “core planning scenario” documents compiled by NHS officials include the offer of a single dose of the Pfizer jab to children aged 12 and over when the new school year starts.
  
• A major new pilot scheme could see the end of people in England having to self-isolate if they have been in contact with someone who has Covid. The government-backed research will trial giving people daily lateral flow tests for seven days instead of asking people quarantine for 10 days.
  
• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has urged the British public to keep their resolve for the “last lap” of the fight against coronavirus, saying there is only “a little bit more time” until all legal restrictions on social interaction are removed.
  
• Campaigners call for urgent action to prevent oxygen shortage in Covid-hit countries. They warn that scenes in India of families desperately searching for oxygen for critically ill Covid patients will be repeated in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and other countries in Africa and around the world unless a significant international effort is made to ensure all countries have good oxygen supplies.
  
• A total of 41,730,517 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and May 1, according to NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 452,789 on the previous day.
  

Which countries could be on the UK's green list?

• Gibraltar
  
• Iceland
  
• Israel
  

England to lift limits on numbers of funeral mourners

'It's a battle every day,' Indian doctor warns

Cricket: IPL match postponed after positive tests

'Four nations system' needed for international travel

North Korea to skip qualifiers over virus

Chinese tourists expected to make 18.3 million railway trips on labor day

Round-up: Latest headlines

• Holidays abroad should be discouraged even when legal to prevent further lockdowns, a cross-party group of MPs says
  
• The EU Commission has unveiled its plans for allowing vacations
  
• Foreign ministers from wealthy countries will arrive in London on Monday for their first in-person gathering since the pandemic began
  
• The easing of restrictions in Wales sees some families and friends able to hug again and the reopening of indoor gyms
  
• There will be no limit for the number of funeral mourners in England from 17 May under new plans
  
• More than 5,000 music fans pack a festival event in Liverpool - with no distancing or masks - as part of a government trial
  
• India's Covid crisis continues, with hospitals in Delhi pleading for more help with oxygen supplies
  
• For 10 straight days, the country has recorded over 300,000 daily coronavirus cases - amid record numbers of deaths
  
• France ends its 10km (6.2 miles) limit on domestic travel as some Covid restrictions begin to ease
  

NHS faces exodus of doctors after Covid pandemic, survey finds

'Time to revive EU tourism industry'

Today so far …

• The European Commission has recommended that foreign citizens fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and those coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation be allowed to travel into European Union countries without additional restrictions.
  
• US president Joe Biden and Britain’s Prince Harry were among those calling for vaccine equity at the recording of a fundraising concert in Los Angeles for the global Covax programme. Biden said in a video address that the US was “working with leaders around the world to share more vaccines and boost production to make sure every country has the vaccines they need”.
  
• India recorded a record number of deaths on Sunday. New coronavirus cases fell slightly, but deaths due to the infection jumped by a new high 3,689, with one more state going into lockdown as the nation’s healthcare system struggles to cope with a massive caseload.
  
• Press reports and sources have said that twenty-four people died in one hospital overnight on India on Sunday in the southern state of Karnataka after the hospital ran out of oxygen, though the district administration denied that shortages had caused the deaths. A further 12 people died on Saturday in a hospital in the capital New Delhi after it ran out of oxygen, reports said.
  
• Britain will send another 1,000 ventilators to India, the government announced on Sunday.
  
• The IPL cricket match scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders tonight has been postponed after two players tested positive for Covid. The league has been fiercely criticised for continuing amid India’s Covid crisis.
  
• Pakistan has closed land crossings with Iran and Afghanistan for travellers and slashed international flights as the government warned of a “critical” few weeks ahead in the battle against Covid-19.
  
• Taiwan will suspend the entry of people who have been to India over the previous 14 days from tomorrow.
  
• There’s the threat of legal challenges to Australia’s travel ban on anybody arriving from India, regardless of whether they are Australian citizens or permanent residents.
  
• Ahead of Scotland’s national election on Thursday, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has rubbished suggestions that an independent Scotland would not have been able to procure the same level of vaccinations. British finance minister Rishi Sunak also intervened in the campaign, saying a future possible referendum on Scottish independence would hamper the UK’s economic recovery from Covid.
  
• Gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools are reopening in Wales as the further easing of the Covid-19 restrictions continues.
  
• The 30-person limit on the number of mourners who can attend funerals in England is to be lifted later this month, the government has announced.
  
• Malaysia will begin a parallel Covid-19 innoculation programme this week for people who chose to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, after it was removed from an ongoing rollout due to public fears over its safety.
  
• The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have sparked anger in Japan’s medical community after they asked 500 nurses to volunteer at this summer’s Games.
  
• Hong Kong’s government has sparked discrimination concerns over plans to force hundreds of thousands of foreign domestic workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face losing their job.
  

We don't want 'influx of disease' after easing travel curbs, says PM

Chopping and changing travel rules isn't helpful, says Starmer

PM: Good chance social distancing can end from 21 June

Crowds at Chinese tourist sites for the holidays

UK delivers 50 million Covid jabs

Border guards fear delays amid search for travellers who tell 'porky pies'

Army in India asked to set up Covid facilities

Oktoberfest cancelled for second year

Why some UK mosques are still closed to women

Surge testing taking place in another London borough

Some foreign travel can take place from 17 May - PM

Decision over inclusion of Chinese vaccines’ in Covax ‘by the end of next week’

Surge testing taking place in another London borough

Some foreign travel can take place from 17 May - PM

Decision over inclusion of Chinese vaccines’ in Covax ‘by the end of next week’

Explained: When and where can I go on holiday.... and with who?

Single UK death recorded on Monday

Outdoor dining returns to Greece

Early evening summary

• Morocco has detected its first two cases of the Indian Covid variant, the health ministry said.
  
• Tanzania has announced additional anti-Covid measures in an effort to prevent the importation of new variants.
  
• Denmark’s health authority confirmed the country will exclude Johnson and Johnson’s Covid vaccine from its vaccination programme, becoming the first country to do so.
  
• Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, ordered the end to a blanket lockdown in the capital, Phnom Penh, despite the country registering a record 841 new Covid cases on Monday.
  
• On 21 June, Britain is on course to scrap the social distancing rule that requires people to stay at least 1 metre apart, Boris Johnson, the UK’s prime minister, suggested. He urged caution over foreign holidays but said he expected there to be “some openings up” on 17 May.
  

What's been happening in the UK and around the world?

• A single death within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test has been reported in the UK on bank holiday Monday, Public Health England said. A further 1,649 new Covid cases were also recorded
  
• Meanwhile the UK has delivered 50 million coronavirus jabs
  
• Boris Johnson said there is a "good chance" the one-metre plus social distancing rule will be scrapped on 21 June in England
  
• The prime minister also said while some foreign travel may resume after May 17 "we have got to be sensible"
  
• It follows a recommendation from a cross-party group of MPs that holidays abroad should be discouraged even when legal
  
• Authorities in the Indian capital Delhi have called for help from the army to run Covid care facilities and intensive care units as it continues to grapple with a brutal second wave of cases
  
• Germany's Oktoberfest has been cancelled for a second year in a row over coronavirus concerns
  

Goodbye for now