The travel red list used by the UK is to be reduced from 54 countries to just seven, the transport secretary says
It means people arriving from South Africa, Mexico and Brazil, among others, will no longer have to quarantine in hotels
Fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK from 37 new countries will also have to comply with fewer entry requirements
In Northern Ireland, social distancing rules will be lifted for bars and restaurants from 31 October
Nightclubs will also be able to reopen from that date
Limits on numbers allowed to meet inside a home will be removed from 14 October
In England, mask-wearing could return in schools under contingency plans, the education secretary says
The wave of job cuts many expected at the end of the furlough scheme has not happened, early data suggests
Some 1.1 million people in the UK had long Covid in August, the ONS says
Pfizer asks the US government to allow emergency use of its vaccine in five to 11-year-olds
Thanks for joining us. Today's contributors were Jen Meierhans, Alexandra Fouche, Jo Couzens and Alex Therrien.
As ever, you can follow any major developments on the news site - just go to the front page. And for more in-depth coverage, you can go to our dedicated coronavirus section, here.
We’ll be ending our live coverage for today shortly but, before we go, here’s a reminder of today’s main coronavirus headlines from the UK and around the world:
The changes to England's travel red list have been agreed on a "four-nation" basis, the Scottish government has said, confirming it has also implemented the changes.
In a statement, it said it would also recognise vaccine certificates from a further 37 countries - as the UK government said it would do - along with those issued under the United Nations vaccination programme.
Here's the full list of 47 destinations that are being taken off England's red list from 04:00 BST on Monday:
Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Congo (Democratic Republic), Costa Rica, Cuba. Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Georgia, Guyana, Indonesia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The cutting of England's red list comes after new simplified travel rules came into force this week. This included the scrapping of the green and amber lists and the removal of pre-departure testing for fully-vaccinated travellers from eligible countries.
The government said its scientists would continue to engage with countries still on the red list and keep the evidence on variants of concern under close review in order to "ensure the UK’s approach remains proportionate".
"The government will continue to maintain surveillance at the border through testing and genomic sequencing, so that it can respond rapidly if risks from any country increase," a Department for Transport statement said.
The transport secretary has been speaking to the BBC about the latest changes. He says things have "settled down a lot", allowing the rules to be relaxed.
For British expats Matt and Hannah Pirnie, who have lived in South Africa for a decade, the country's removal from the red list will mean it is easier to see family again.
"It's been a long pandemic for us. Not seeing family, not being allowed to go back, but more importantly grandparents not being able to come here and see their grandkids. It's been a long two years," Matt says.
"First of all when all the aeroplanes stopped initially - that was quite anxiety provoking - and then to be put on the red list for so long has just been quite hard to wrap your head around why," Hannah adds.
"Taking three children into a prison-like mentality was just a no-go, plus the cost. It's been quite hard really."
Image source, Getty ImagesThe government has also announced that from late October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers returning from countries not on the red list will be able to replace their day-two PCR test with a cheaper lateral flow test.
This will be followed by a free PCR if the result is positive, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England.
Passengers will be able to send a picture of their lateral flow test as a minimum requirement to verify the test result, with the ambition remaining to have this in place for people returning from half-term breaks by the end of the month.
As we reported a moment ago, 47 destinations are being removed from England's red list, including Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.
It means people returning to England will - from 04:00 BST on 11 October - no longer be required to quarantine in a government-approved hotel at their own cost for 10 full days.
The remaining seven destinations on the red list are: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
In a series of tweets, external, Shapps also says the number of countries and territories from which fully vaccinated status is recognised is increasing to 37, including India, Turkey and Ghana.
He adds: "The measures announced today mark the next step as we continue to open up travel and provide stability for passengers and industry while remaining on track to keep travel open for good."
England's travel red list is to be reduced from 54 countries to just seven, the transport secretary says.
From 11 October, 47 destinations, including South Africa, will be removed from the red list, Grant Shapps says.
The number of daily coronavirus cases recorded in the UK has passed 40,000 for the first time in a month.
However, the impact of vaccinations means deaths and hospital admissions are not rising.
Image source, Getty ImagesAs we've been reporting, ministers in Northern Ireland have confirmed that a number of coronavirus restrictions are being lifted this month.
So what's changing?
From 31 October:
From 14 October:
But some measures will remain in place. First Minister Paul Givan said these were the mandatory wearing of face coverings in some limited areas, the retention of risk assessments, and data on visitors to venues and hospitality settings.
Givan confirms that the legal requirement for social distancing in bars and restaurants is to be removed.
He says this can be done because of the hospitality industry's commitment to take forward the government's "strong advice" on people providing proof of their Covid status to enter venues.
Givan confirms that by the end of October restrictions on a "wide range of issues" will be "completed".
He says there will be three areas of restrictions left after this point - the wearing of face coverings in some limited areas, the retention of risk assessments and data on visitors to venues and hospitality.
He says these will stay in law.
Northern Ireland's First Minister Paul Givan is now giving an update on the country's remaining coronavirus restrictions.
As we have been reporting, nightclubs are expected to be allowed to reopen from 31 October, meaning legal restrictions on dancing in venues will be scrapped.
The latest figures, external show that the total number of deaths in the past seven days decreased by 12.1% from the previous week.
Cases have dropped by 0.2% compared to the previous week.
Some 85.3% of the population aged 12 and over have now had at least one jab.
Meanwhile, 78.4% of people aged 12 and over have had both doses.
There have been a further 40,701 cases of coronavirus reported in the UK, according to the latest government figures, external.
And there have been another 122 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesMore on changes to restrictions in Northern Ireland now - the BBC has been told nightclubs will be allowed to reopen from 31 October.
From 14 October, the limit on the number of people allowed to meet inside a home - currently 15 from four households - is to be scrapped.
Also from 14 October, the requirement that audiences have to be seated at indoor arts performances will be lifted.
The devolved government has decided to retain the mandatory wearing of face coverings in certain settings for now.
Jonty Bloom
BBC Business correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesNot exactly one hundred years of solitude, to use the title of a well-known novel, but the long coronavirus lockdowns gave many of us a lot more time to read.
As a result, sales of physical books rose strongly: some 202 million paperbacks and hardbacks were sold in the UK in 2020, according to industry figures., external
That was the first time these sales had passed the 200 million mark since 2012.
It was a similar picture in the US, where sales hit 751 million last year,, external the highest figure since 2009.
The industry hopes this trend will continue now that people have got into the habit of reading more.
