Coronavirus - 11th May 2021

• First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to confirm later that Scotland's Covid rules will be relaxed further next week
  
• The UK government will pledge to support Covid recovery in the Queen's Speech
  
• Boris Johnson will promise a post-pandemic skills "revolution" for England, with loans for adults wanting to retrain and more powers to deal with failing colleges
  
• The Brit Awards will take place this evening in front of a live audience at London's O2, as part of the government's pilot scheme for events
  
• Portugal could host the Champions League final. It can't be played in Istanbul as Turkey is on the UK government travel red list and fans wouldn't be able to go
  
• US regulators have authorised the use of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for children between the ages of 12 and 15
  
• Europe is considering similar approval
  
• And the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the variant first found in India last year as a "variant of global concern"
  

• Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to confirm later that Covid rules in the nation will be relaxed further next week
  
• People in England will be allowed to hug loved ones and enjoy indoor hospitality from next Monday
  
• The government says new bills set out in the Queen’s Speech later will support the country's recovery from the pandemic
  
• The 2021 Brit Awards will take place this evening, in front of a live audience at London's O2 arena as part of government trials of mass events
  
• The US has authorised the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds
  
• And the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the coronavirus variant first found in India last year as a "variant of global concern"
  
• Malaysia’s government has announced that it will impose a national lockdown in response to rising cases. All social gatherings will be banned and schools closed.
  
• WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that public health capacities must be strengthened to prepare for the possibility of vaccine-evading Covid-19 variants.
  
• France records its’ lowest case figures of 2021. The country records 3,292 new Covid-19 cases and 292 deaths.
  
• University students at the State University of New York (SUNY) and the City University of New York (CUNY) must get vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend classes during the fall semester.
  
• The French prime minister Jean Castex has said that France was “emerging on a long-term basis” from the Covid-19 crisis.
  
• Argentina’s health ministry confirmed its first cases of the Covid-19 variants first discovered in India and South Africa in three travellers returning from Europe.
  
• Novavax Inc has said the development of its Covid-19 vaccine is slower than previously anticipated and does expect to file for regulatory approval until the third quarter of 2021.
  

Latest across Europe

• French Prime Minister Jean Castex has detailed the next steps towards reopening society starting on 19 May with 50% capacity of outdoor seating at cafes, bars and restaurants - and cinemas and theatres at 35% capacity and a maximum of 800 people. Libraries and museums can also reopen, allowing each individual 8 sq/m space. Shops will have similar spacing. From 9 June restaurants can open indoors at half capacity, with shops and museums requiring 4 sq m space per person. Swimming pools and sport centres can reopen for non-contact sports for all, up to 50% capacity. Full reopening is set for 30 June.
  
• It was shut for almost seven months but last night La Scala opera house in Milan reopened its doors to loud applause from an audience of 500 watching from balconies with the musicians in the seating area. Soprano Lisa Davidsen and masked conductor Riccardo Chailly were part of the performance which culminated in an encore from Verdi’s Nabucco.
  
• Top Spanish health official Fernando Simón says he’s disappointed by pictures of partying crowds without masks celebrating the end of the country’s state of alarm and overnight curfew at the weekend. There is a lot of virus still in Spain, he says, and he was hopeful of avoiding a fourth wave but nobody knew what would happen now.
  
• A Belgian mayor has temporarily stepped aside after admitting she was vaccinated in March, earlier than she should have been. Veerle Heeren is 56 and at the time vaccines were available to locals in Sint-Truiden aged over 85. She’s admitted passing on the names of 13 others for early vaccination, including relatives.
  
• German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has gone into isolation after becoming infected with Covid despite having had a first vaccination. The 71-year-old has no symptoms.
  

What is the deadly ‘black fungus’ seen in Covid patients in India?

Globally, we are still in a perilous situation

Nelpal appeals to climbers to bring back their empty oxygen containers

India accounting for one in three global daily deaths

UK: Hancock confirms NHS app to be used to prove vaccine status for international travel

Taiwan tightens restrictions after new domestic Covid cases

India Covid variant of 'global concern' - WHO

Activists protest outside AstraZeneca's headquarters

Today so far…

• The World Health Organization has said the B.1.617 variant spreading in India shows signs of being more transmissible, and is now being treated as a variant of concern globally.
  
• WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that public health capacities must be strengthened to prepare for the possibility of vaccine-evading Covid-19 variants.
  
• Indian prime minister Narendra Modi remains under pressure to impose a national lockdown to replace the piecemeal Covid restrictions across the stricken country. A Reuters tally shows that India is accounting for one in every three Covid deaths reported worldwide each day. The seven-day average of new cases in India is at a record high of 390,995.
  
• The European Union wants AstraZeneca to deliver at least 120 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine by the end of June, a lawyer representing the EU said at the opening of a legal case against the company over delayed supplies.
  
• AstraZeneca had originally agreed with the EU to deliver 300 million doses by the end of June, but has so far delivered only 50 million. A provisional compensation of 1 euro was put forward by the EU while damages were assessed.
  
• Holidaymakers who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine will be able to “prove” their status to other countries using the NHS app, UK health secretary Matt Hancock has said. The ban on overseas leisure travel from England is lifted on Monday.
  
• Theatres in Scotland have called for an urgent review of Covid-19 social distancing restrictions for audiences, saying that the 2-metre rule leaves them in a perilous position.
  
• Heathrow says it lost nearly 6.3 million passengers in April 2021 compared with the same month in 2019.
  
• US health authorities have approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in adolescents, which includes children as young as 12.
  
• Taiwan’s government has tightened rules on public gatherings after reporting six new domestic Covid-19 cases with no clear source of infection.
  
• Inheritance tax should become a larger slice of government tax revenue following the pandemic, according to a report by the OECD that warns wealth inequality will rise over the next decade unless death duties also increase.
  
• Novavax has said the development of its Covid-19 vaccine is slower than previously anticipated and does expect to file for regulatory approval until the third quarter of 2021.
  

Normality by end of year if variant threat limited - scientist

What's going on with the Champions League final?

Use NHS app to prove vaccine status - Hancock

New virus variants causing concern in Africa

New Covid variant detected in Highlands

Climbers reach Everest summit for first time since reopening

Lockdown easing will go ahead in most parts of Scotland - Sturgeon

Hugs allowed in homes in Scotland from Monday

• It is no longer necessary to maintain physical distance when mixing in each others' homes and gardens. "From Monday, you can hug your loved ones again," says Nicola Sturgeon, adding that she feels emotional confirming it
  
• People can meet outdoors in groups of eight from up to eight households
  
• Up to six people from three households will be able to meet indoors in each other's homes, including for overnight stays - this goes further than the groups of four that had originally been planned
  
• Cinemas, theatres, concert halls, comedy clubs and other venues can reopen
  
• Pubs and restaurants can open indoors and alcohol can be served indoors up until 22:30 BST
  

Traffic-light system for foreign travel in Scotland

Rules for reopening cinemas 'impractical'

EU files new lawsuit against AstraZeneca

• Read more: Why is the EU suing AstraZeneca?
  

What's been happening today?

• Scotland confirms the next step of lockdown easing will be on Monday 17 May. From that date, people can meet in each others' homes again and hug loved ones, while a traffic-light system for foreign travel will begin
  
• The UK government set out its plan for the next year ahead as the country recovers from the pandemic. In the Queen's Speech - which was pared back because of Covid - the government's priorities were revealed, including a boost for adult education, home ownership and planning reform
  
• People in England will be able to use the NHS app as a vaccine passport from Monday, the government has confirmed. It will only apply to people who have had both doses of the jab. People who don't have smartphones can call 119 for a letter instead
  
• After seeing a huge drop in demand as people work from home, cafe chain Pret a Manger is opening concession stores in Tesco supermarkets. The sandwich chain has struggled in the pandemic as many of its branches are in city centres and rely on office trade
  
• The World Health Organization has classified the coronavirus variant first found in India last year as a "variant of global concern". It said preliminary studies show the mutation spreads more easily and has already spread to more than 30 countries
  

How many people can I meet in the pub?

Italian student receives six vaccine doses by mistake

Exams warning after questions shared on TikTok

French nurses strike over pay and staff shortages

Which places are on Scotland and England's green list?

• Portugal
  
• Israel
  
• Singapore
  
• Australia
  
• New Zealand
  
• Brunei
  
• Iceland
  
• Gibraltar
  
• Falkland Islands
  
• Faroe Islands
  
• South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands
  
• St Helena, Tristan de Cunha and Ascension Island
  

What's the roadmap for lifting lockdown?

Italy's Berlusconi 'readmitted to hospital'

Dozens more bodies wash up on bank of Ganges river

• Read more on this story here
  

Care home residents enjoy first haircut since Covid

Jersey makes rules for UK travellers simpler

What can I do from next Monday?

Slovakia halts AstraZeneca jab for first doses

• Read more: Rare blood clots - what you need to know
  

White House to partner with Uber and Lyft in vaccine campaign

Singapore detects 26 coronavirus reinfections in people previously infected

Key global updates

• Dozens more bodies have washed up on the banks of the Ganges river in northern India, believed to be victims of Covid-19, as a second wave of the virus ravages parts of the country
  
• The European Union (EU) has filed a new lawsuit against pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, demanding that it delivers an additional 90 million doses of its vaccine to the bloc before July - or face sanctions or a fine
  
• Meanwhile, Slovakia's health ministry has ordered a halt to the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people receiving their first doses following the death of a 47-year-old woman
  
• Hospital staff in France have taken part in a national strike over a lack of recognition for their work during the pandemic and shortages of beds in Intensive Care Units (ICUs)
  
• And finally, the US is partnering with ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft in an attempt to boost its vaccination campaign by offering free transport to and from vaccination sites
  

Thanks for joining us

Updates were brought to you by Alexandra Fouché, Francesca Gillett, Paul Kirby, Mal Siret, Lauren Turner, Ella Wills, Katie Wright and Claire Heald.

• Big news for Scotland today, where lockdown will be eased from next Monday. It means people can meet each other in other people's homes - up to groups of six from three households - as well as hug, plus pubs and restaurants are opening for indoor dining. Our latest story is here, or for a guide to the rule changes, that's here
  
• The government has set out its priorities for the next year as the UK recovers from the pandemic. There are 30 new laws planned which were unveiled in today's Queen's Speech
  
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson promises there will be a public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic in the current parliamentary session. To give you an idea of what timescale that means, parliamentary sessions usually last a year but can be longer
  
• The NHS app in England (which is different to the Covid app) will be able to be used as a vaccine passport for foreign travel from 17 May. People who don't have a smartphone can call 119 and get a letter instead