Coronavirus - 6th May 2021

• Almost all of 50 of the UK's biggest employers do not plan to bring staff back to the office full-time
  
• Some 43 of the firms said they would embrace a mix of home and office working, with staff at home two or three days a week
  
• People who can work from home are still advised to do so, but that restriction is likely to change in June
  
• India says a double mutant variant of the coronavirus first discovered there in March may be linked to its deadly second wave
  
• The US backs an initiative to waive intellectual property protections for coronavirus vaccines
  
• Countries hope that will boost vaccine production but drugs companies argue it could stifle innovation
  
• Ursula von der Leyen says the EU is ready to discuss any proposal that address the crisis in an effective and pragmatic manner
  
• A study examines what's holding back vaccine take-up in ethnic minority communities in the UK
  

Summary of events so far today around the world

• Germany’s constitutional court said on Wednesday it rejected emergency appeals against the government’s decision to impose night curfews in areas with high Covid-19 infections, Reuters reports.
  
• The number of new Covid-19 infections in France is rising much more slowly and hospitalisations declined on Wednesday, in the first week after the French government eased its third nationwide lockdown.
  
• Serbia’s president said his country would pay each citizen who gets a Covid jab before the end of May, in what could be the world’s first cash-for-jabs scheme, AFP reports.
  
• The US supports waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, US trade representative Katherine Tai said, Reuters reports.
  
• Negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property protections for jabs will take time given the consensus-based nature of the institution and the complexity of the issue, a Biden administration official added.
  
• Alberta will become the first Canadian province to offer Covid vaccines to everyone aged 12 and over from 10 May, premier Jason Kenney said.
  
• Ireland’s deputy premier, Leo Varadkar, has said he is hoping for a return to normality by late summer with the “vast majority” of curbs removed by August and a “normal Christmas”.
  
• Canada is authorising the use of Pfizer Inc’s Covid vaccine for use in children aged 12 to 15, the first doses to be allowed for people that young, the federal health ministry said.
  
• In Egypt, the closing hours of stores, malls and restaurants will be brought forward to 9pm to help contain the coronavirus for two weeks from Thursday, the prime minister said.
  
• Italy will allow tourists to enter quarantine-free as soon as this month, the prime minister, Mario Draghi announced.
  
• A Covid variant first diagnosed in India has been detected in Kenya, the health ministry confirmed.
  
• Norway will introduce verifiable vaccine certificates from early June, allowing holders to use them for admittance to events held in Norway, prime minister Erna Solberg said.
  
• World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has reiterated that the Tokyo Olympics will take place in July despite the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Japan.
  

Latest across Europe

• Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vucic, has offered anyone who gets vaccinated by the end of May 3,000 dinars in cash (£22; €25) in an attempt to boost take-up fast. Serbia has bought in doses of Western vaccines as well as Chinese and Russian drugs and even though 1.5 million of Serbia's population of 7 million have had two doses, recently the numbers have been falling.
  
• Denmark is moving closer to normality this morning, with primary school children back full-time and gyms and sport centres open to anyone carrying a corona passport showing they’re virus free. Theatres and cinemas can admit up to 2,000 people.
  
• Two leading members of Slovakia’s ruling For The People party have resigned their posts in parliament after they were caught visiting a cafe in defiance of a 21:00 Covid curfew. Deputy parliament speaker Juraj Seliga and colleague Jana Zitnanska were meeting Bratislava’s regional governor, who hasn’t resigned.
  
• German Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to release the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to anyone who wants it, whatever their age. He says he’ll talk to health ministers across Germany today. Although the seven-day incidence has fallen in Germany, case numbers in the past 24 hours are back up over 20,000.
  
• Greece’s health minister say authorities hope to vaccinate all adults with at least one dose by early July. Yesterday alone over 100,000 vaccinations were carried out in Greece.
  
• The pandemic has cost Air France-KLM €1.5bn in losses in the first three months of 2021, with turnover halved and passengers down by three quarters to 4.8 million. It hopes ng loss. It expects to run half of its capacity in the current quarter.
  

More than 1m people will not go back full time

Covid measures in place as Britons head to the polls

India says new variant linked to surge

• What is the India Covid variant?
  
• India is a Covid disaster - it didn't have to be
  

Is emergency relief reaching those in need in India?

Quarantine-free travel suspended between New Zealand and NSW

World's oldest person pulls out of Olympic torch relay

What's been happening so far today?

• Almost all of 50 of the UK's biggest employers questioned by the BBC have said they do not plan to bring staff back to the office full-time
  
• Alcohol killed more people in 2020 in England and Wales than in any of the previous 20 years - with deaths increasing from March 2020 onwards when the UK had its first lockdown
  
• People across Britain are heading to the polls for the biggest set of votes since the 2019 general election, after some previous elections were delayed due to the pandemic
  
• Some black community leaders have attributed lower vaccine take-up among minority communities to racism, including unethical medical treatments in the past
  

• India says a "double mutant variant" of the coronavirus first discovered in March may be linked to its deadly second wave
  
• Officials in some of India's worst-hit states have told the BBC that they had still not received any emergency relief supplies
  
• The US has backed a temporary lifting of patent protection for coronavirus vaccines, to increase production around the world. The EU said it too was willing to look at the proposals
  
• Quarantine-free travel between Australia's New South Wales and New Zealand is being suspended temporarily as investigations into two locally-acquired Covid cases continue
  

Serbians given bonus to be vaccinated

TUI offers travellers £20 Covid testing kit for holidays to low risk countries

Philippines' Duterte apologises for taking unapproved China jab

Secondary school shuts after more than 100 test positive

UK reports 13 deaths, 2,613 cases

Spread of coronavirus in Moray is uncontrolled, officials warn

Seven cases of India variant found in NI

• What is the India Covid variant and will vaccines work against it?
  

Covid cases top one million in Sweden

Brussels boasts what may be world's shortest curfew

Chinese holiday breaks travel records - but caution remains

Four players to miss Scottish Cup semi-final after positive tests

Woman waits more than a year for heart surgery

What's been happening today?

• The UK economy will enjoy its fastest growth in more than 70 years in 2021 as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, according to the Bank of England. But it comes after the biggest contraction in 300 years in 2020 when the pandemic hit
  
• The US has thrown its support behind a move at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily lift patent protections for coronavirus vaccines. The UK has stopped short of backing it, saying it is "in discussions with the US and WTO members to facilitate increased production and supply of Covid-19 vaccines"
  
• Seven confirmed cases of the India variant of coronavirus have been found in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has said - the first confirmed cases of the variant in the region
  
• The NHS is revising the booking system for Covid-19 jabs in England after complaints that it could reveal individuals' vaccination status. By entering details such as someone's name, date of birth and postcode it may be possible to work out if another person has been given both doses, one or none
  
• Nearly three-quarters of people in England aged 45 to 49 are likely to have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine according to NHS England figures
  
• Team GB and ParalympicsGB have unveiled their kit for the delayed Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. it features a deconstructed union flag and Japanese iconography
  
• It comes as the International Olympic Committee says it has accepted an offer from Pfizer to provide vaccines to athletes and support staff heading to Tokyo for the Games in July
  
• There have been a further 2,613 coronavirus cases recorded in the UK and 13 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
  
• Seven cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Northern Ireland. Chief medical officer Dr Michael McBride said it was not unexpected.
  
• Russia has authorised the one-shot Sputnik Light version of its Covid vaccine for use, the Russian Direct Investment Fund confirmed.
  
• Three cases of the Brazilian variant were detected in Poland’s southern Silesia region, the health minister said.
  
• The European Commission wants to speed up EU approval of experimental Covid-19 drugs, according to a document released by the EU executive.
  
• France will lower the age of those eligible for Covid vaccines to all French people aged 50 and over from next Monday onwards, President Emmanuel Macron said.
  

Thanks for joining us

Updates were brought to you by Alexandra Fouché, Paul Kirby, Alex Kleiderman, Dulcie Lee, Lauren Turner and Claire Heald.