Image source, PA Media

We're going to pause our live page coverage but will be back if there are any big developments. In the meantime here are some of the headlines from around the world

• Scotland's vaccine passport app has been hit by problems just hours after it launched, the Scottish government says this is due to "heavy traffic"
• Australia is to reopen its border to vaccinated travellers in November for the first time since the pandemic started. The country has had one of the strictest border policies in the world
• Clinics for scans and tests will be set up in community venues in England to help tackle the NHS backlog caused by the pandemic
• UK pub chain JD Wetherspoon has reported a record annual loss after Covid lockdowns resulted in its pubs shutting for 19 week. Chairman Tim Martin has criticised "draconian restrictions"
• Portugal is lifting almost all of the restrictions that were imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus today after a hugely successful national effort to vaccinate the population against Covid-19
• Analysis by the Office for National Statistics suggests that one in six adults in Great Britain experienced some form of depression during the summer months of 202

Thank you for joining us. Today's coverage so far has been provided by Jen Meierhans and Chris Clayton.

The Scottish Conservatives are calling for the nation's vaccine passport scheme to be delayed after users were hit with technical issues.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross says there should be a postponement to avoid what a "weekend of chaos" as the certification is set to be used for access to large events and nightclubs.

"Thousands of people will be at the football and going out to hospitality premises this weekend," he says. "At an incredibly challenging time, businesses will lose out if this app is still not working."

He says the plan should be scrapped altogether but that if the SNP insists on going through with it there should be a delay until the "most basic issues" are ironed out.

Estimates from the Office for National Statistics survey suggest that just under 840,000 people in the UK would have tested positive for coronavirus in the week ending 25 September, up from about 820,000 people last week.

This is 1.2% of the population – or one in 80 people – the same as reported last week.

The ONS says the trend for estimated Covid-19 infections in England and Wales increased in the week to 25 September. Estimated infections were “uncertain” in Northern Ireland and decreased in Scotland.

• England: 1-in-85 people are estimated to be testing positive for coronavirus compared with 1-in-90 last week
• Wales: 1-in-55 compared with 1-in-60 last week
• Northern Ireland: 1-in-65 compared with 1-in-60 last week
• Scotland: 1-in-55 compared with 1-in-45 last week

Image source, Getty Images

In other Covid-related film news, Walt Disney and Scarlett Johansson have settled a legal dispute over the release of the Marvel superhero movie Black Widow.

Johansson sued Disney two months ago, accusing it of breaching her contract when it offered the movie on its Disney+ streaming service while it was still showing in cinemas - a move prompted by the pandemic.

She said the decision meant that she was deprived of potential earnings.

Black Widow, which debuted simultaneously on 9 July in cinemas and via Disney+, set a box office record for a release during the coronavirus pandemic in its first weekend, grossing $218m (£161m), but box office receipts then fell sharply.

During the pandemic several big Hollywood studios opted to bypass cinemas, many of which had been closed, and release films online instead.

Now that most cinemas have reopened, Disney, along with fellow giant Warner Bros, has chosen to maintain a dual release strategy for their major films.

Details of the deal between Disney and Johansson have not been disclosed but both parties say they are pleased that the matter has been resolved and look forward to future collaborations.

Image source, Reuters

Daniel Craig's final James Bond film made between £4.5m and £5m in its first day at the UK box office after being repeatedly postponed during the pandemic.

The industry is watching closely to see whether it can lift box office takings to pre-Covid levels.

Thursday's takings are 13% higher than 2015's Spectre but 26% below 2012's Skyfall, Universal Pictures said.

It was also the UK's "widest theatrical release of all time", they added.

Universal said No Time to Die opened in 772 cinemas in the UK and Ireland on Thursday - 25 more than the previous record-holder, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, in 2019.

Film technology firm Gower Street Analytics predicted it would account for 92% of the total UK and Ireland box office takings in its opening week.

Image source, PA Media

Among those lining up on the starting line on Sunday will be Nadine Brower, whose father Eddie, 73, went to hospital on 13 January with mild Covid symptoms but fell into a coma on her birthday.

Nadine says: "His breathing capacity was very low, so they put him on oxygen and then on the 20 January, which is my birthday, they put him into a coma because his lung had collapsed.

"He was in a coma for three months. He started off in Whipps Cross and then he was moved to the Royal London, which is Whitechapel, in the ICU.

The 44-year-old from Tring, Hertfordshire, told the PA news agency that all funds raised will go towards her father's rehabilitation aftercare and the charity hospital, the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, in Putney, south-west London.

"They have been so supportive and I am so thankful," she says.

Eddie will be undergoing a six-hour operation next week to release the tendons behind the knees as they are locked, in the hope that he will be able to walk again.

Image source, PA Media

The London Marathon returns in full this weekend - for the first time in over two years due to the pandemic.

Last year coronavirus meant the world-famous race, which was usually takes place in April, had to be postponed to early October, with only elite runners allowed to compete.

This time around, the race is again taking place in the autumn - and now charity fundraising runners are being invited back.

More than 40,000 will take to London's streets on Sunday, with a further 40,000 participating virtually.

Race director Hugh Brasher says he expects it to be "the most memorable London Marathon ever".

Image source, Getty Images

We're reporting that more than 50 countries have missed the World Health Organization (WHO) target to vaccinate 10% of their populations by the end of September - so what is the vaccine progress looking like around the world?

More than six billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered, in at least 196 countries worldwide.

Overall, China and India have administered the highest number of doses, with about 2.2 billion and 855 million respectively. The US ranks third, with more than 390 million.

While countries in Europe and the Americas are progressing well with their vaccination campaigns, many states in Africa have experienced some supply issues.

You can use our look-up tool to search for the vaccination rates in different countries and territories.

More than 50 countries have missed the World Health Organization's (WHO) target for 10% of their populations to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of September.

Most are in Africa, where the WHO's overall figure for those fully vaccinated is currently 4.4%.

In the UK, nearly 66% of the whole population has been fully vaccinated, in the EU about 62% and in the US it's 55%.

Many of the 50 - but not all - are low-income countries, grappling with vaccine supply and health infrastructure issues.

Some suffer from conflict or civil unrest such as Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Myanmar, while others like Haiti have been hit by natural disasters, making the task of rolling out vaccines very difficult.

But wealthy Taiwan, whose vaccine programme has been dogged by delivery delays and other issues, is still just below 10%.

Vietnam, which until a few months ago, had some of the lowest numbers of coronavirus cases globally, has also fallen short of the 10% target.

We explore why Africa has fallen behind and what has caused vaccine shortages

Others struggling with the Scottish vaccine passport app include a BBC Good Morning Scotland listener who told the programme that he had tried twice to download the app without success.

He says: "I tried for a couple of hours last night but no joy and this morning I tried again and although I could get past the biometric part it would take me to the end of the process and it was still not working.

"It just isn't suitable for purpose at the moment, they should have known it was going to happen in the first place."

University of Edinburgh scientist Dr Christine Tait-Burkard says she was unable to get the app working, being told a match could not be found for her on the NHS database.

However, the academic told the programme that once up and running, the app will help "persuade some of the hesitant people [to get vaccinated] if the vaccine passport has consequences."

People in Scotland have been sharing their experiences of trying to download the new vaccine passport app which has been hit by technical issues on its launch day.

Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Roddy Dunlop QC, describes the app as the "worst I have ever tried to use".

He wrote on Twitter: "I am not prone to hyperbole. I promise.

"And I instantly recognise that I was originally instructed to challenge the introduction of Covid passports and so am not neutral.

"But try the app. This is, literally, the worst app I have ever tried to use."

Jodie Davis
Consultant Statistician, Visual Journalism Statistics, BBC News

We've got more figures from the Office for National Statistics on depression during the pandemic.

Of those who couldn't afford an unexpected, necessary £850 expense, 29% reported depressive symptoms - compared with 11% of those who could afford such an expense.

The rate among unemployed people was 31% - twice that of employed or self-employed people at 15%.

Trends were consistent across many groups - a peak in the depths of winter and lockdown in January to March followed by a slow decline that has not returned to the levels seen before the pandemic.

The survey was conducted between 21 July and 15 August, just after England fully opened up.

But the ONS warns against crediting the end of lockdown with all the improvements seen because depressive symptoms rise in winter and fall in summer.

Jodie Davis
Consultant Statistician, Visual Journalism Statistics, BBC News

New analysis by the Office for National Statistics suggests that one in six adults in Great Britain experienced some form of depression during the summer months of 2021.

Between July and August, 17% experienced depressive symptoms – this is down from 21% (one in five) earlier in the year but is still above the rate observed before the pandemic - 10%.

Younger adults and women were more likely to experience some form of depression, with almost a third - 32% - of women aged 16 to 29 experiencing these symptoms compared with 20% of men of the same age.

A total of 36% of disabled adults experienced some form of depression compared with 8% of adults who did not have disabilities.

Image source, Getty Images

Charities say a hike in energy prices will hit households hard at a time when Covid support measures such as the £20 Universal Credit uplift and the furlough scheme are ending.

Typical default domestic energy bills will rise by £139 a year, with prepayment meter customers paying an extra £153, after regulator Ofgem raised the energy price cap for England, Scotland and Wales.

The cap limits how much providers can raise prices. Even so, the current increase is the biggest jump, to the highest amount, seen since the backstop was introduced in January 2019.

The government has announced £500m in grants to help UK families struggling with the cost of living.

Image source, Getty Images

Another country planning to ease restrictions is Australia, which will reopen its international border from November, giving long-awaited freedoms to vaccinated citizens and their relatives.

Since March 2020, Australia has had some of the world's strictest border rules - even banning its own people from leaving the country.

The policy has been praised for helping to suppress Covid, but it has also controversially separated families.

"It's time to give Australians their lives back," PM Scott Morrison says.

People would be eligible to travel when their state's vaccination rate hit 80%, he told a press briefing earlier.

Travel would not immediately be open to foreigners, but the government said it was working "towards welcoming tourists back to our shores".

Currently, people can leave Australia only for exceptional reasons such as essential work or visiting a dying relative.

Entry is permitted for citizens and others with exemptions, but there are tight caps on arrival numbers. This has left tens of thousands stranded overseas.

Image source, Getty Images

Outside the UK, Portugal is today lifting almost all of the restrictions that were imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus, after a hugely successful national effort to vaccinate the population against Covid-19.

Portugal's rate of infections, relative to population, is not currently Europe's lowest.

But with more than 85% of its residents now fully vaccinated - the world's highest percentage, according to official figures - the vaccination taskforce has been wound up and the government is lifting the last major constraints on daily life.

Remote working is no longer recommended and masks will no longer be required in the street or even in most shops - and restrictions on the number of diners in restaurants are going too.

In hotels, the requirement to present a negative Covid test result or certificate of vaccination is also being dropped.

However a negative test is still needed to travel to the country from outside the EU, including from Portugal's biggest tourism market, the UK.

Image source, Getty Images

JD Wetherspoon has reported a record annual loss after Covid lockdowns resulted in its pubs shutting for 19 weeks.

It posted a £154.7m loss as sales fell sharply in the year to 25 July, after a £34.1m loss a year earlier.

Wetherspoon's chairman Tim Martin has criticised the "use of lockdowns and draconian restrictions".

But the company also suggests that there are signs of recovery since coronavirus rules were eased.

The pub chain says that like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of new pub openings, were just 8.7% lower in the last nine weeks than in the same period before the pandemic.

Sales at its airport sites though, have struggled, it says.

What difference will the clinics make?published at 08:37 BST 1 October 2021

08:37 BST 1 October 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Carrying out diagnostic tests in community settings is nothing new. A number of hospitals already operate similar clinics - in fact some of the sites included in this announcement are running now.

The investment is much needed. Access to tests and scans is a real bottleneck in the system at the moment, slowing down the ability of the NHS to work its way through the backlog in routine care and, sometimes, delaying the diagnosis of cancer.

The aim is to get these tests done within six weeks of referral, unless it is an urgent cancer case.

But currently nearly a quarter of patients wait longer than that. Before the pandemic fewer than 5% did.

The NHS carries out more than 15 million diagnostic tests a year. The government says these clinics will be able to do 2.8 million.

But as there is a shortage of specialists to carry out these tests, it remains to be seen by how much these clinics will expand capacity rather than just lead to services being transferred from hospital into the community.

Image source, SPL

In other news, clinics for scans and tests will be set up in community venues in England to help tackle the NHS backlog caused by the pandemic.

Ministers said the network of 40 diagnostic hubs will be in public places including shopping centres and a Premier League football stadium in Brighton.

They will be able to carry out checks on cancer patients and scans to see if people need surgery for things such as knee and hip replacements.

The government is investing £350m in the scheme with the aim of having the clinics all up and running by March.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid says: “Tackling waiting lists will require new and more innovative ways of delivering the services people need.

"That is why we're making it easier and more convenient to get checked."

Scotland’s vaccine passport app has been hit by technical issues on its launch day – so what’s going on?

Anecdotal evidence on social media suggests that problems may arise when people try to use their NHS CHI number to register.

This step comes after users are asked to take a picture of their passport or driving licence.

One man shared screenshotsof his experience on Twitter during which he was told "no match found" followed by: "Something's went wrong. We're working on it."

Others reported issues getting past the initial log in page.