Ministers urge parents to get children vaccinated

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The number of Covid cases remains high in the UK, with the seven-day average now at 37,991 new cases per day.

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The number of daily deaths remains steady, with the seven-day average at 111 per day.

Some 28 deaths have been reported today but the beginning of the week tends to see lower figures due to reporting lags over the weekend.

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There has been a fall in the number of patients admitted to hosptialis with coronavirus.

The most recent data, which is from last week, shows there are 6,728 patients in hospital.

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As we reported earlier, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford has condemned anti-vaccine protesters who left people feeling "targeted".

He was speaking after a 15-year-old girl said she felt intimidated by protesters at a mass vaccination centre on Saturday.

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The coronavirus infection rate for Ipswich has jumped up by 40% in a week, according to official figures.

The Suffolk town has the eighth-highest number of cases per 100,000 people in England, and there were 880 new Covid cases in the week to 6 October.

Hotspot areas were Belstead Hills, Stoke Park and Gipping and Chantry Park, and there were a high number of cases among school-aged children.

Public Health Suffolk says it is taking the rise in cases "seriously".

According to the figures, Ipswich's 40% rise is one of the biggest week-on-week increases seen in any area in England.

Read more here.

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Most people in Germany and Switzerland can no longer get free tests for coronavirus, as governments seek to encourage more people to get vaccinated.

Free tests were made available earlier this year, partly as a way to control infections at a time when vaccines were not widely available.

But they've also been used to enable unvaccinated people to access services, such as gyms, hairdressers, and eating indoors in restaurants.

Some groups will continue to get free tests in both countries - for example, those with symptoms, children and individuals with certain medical conditions who cannot get vaccinated.

Three more Russian regions have announced that Covid-19 vaccination will be mandatory for much of the adult population, following a surge in officially-reported cases and deaths.

The Republic of Tatarstan, Maritime Territory and Jewish Autonomous District are the latest in a growing list of Russian federal regions, including the capital Moscow, to demand that workers from a variety of industries undergo vaccination.

Those working in healthcare, education, trade, catering, public transport and social services will be required to have the first component of the jab by mid-November and the second a month later, regional health authorities have said.

In recent weeks Russia has repeatedly set new official records for daily deaths from the virus. The country's total death toll from the virus likely exceeds 400,000, federal statistics board Rosstat said on Friday.

Russia's vaccine rollout has been marred by relatively low uptake with around 42 million people being fully vaccinated from a population of over 146 million, according to government figures.

Nonetheless, the Kremlin has distanced itself from measures making vaccination compulsory, opposing the idea in principle but allowing regions to implement them.

Polls have shown that compulsory vaccination is not a popular prospect among the public with 58% saying they were against it in July, according to independent pollster Levada Centre.

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More than a third of fully vaccinated over-80s in England are likely to have received their Covid-19 booster jab, latest figures suggest.

Of the nearly 2.7 million people aged 80 and over in England who have already received two doses of vaccine, around 923,000 are estimated to have had their booster dose - the equivalent of 34%.

The figures, from NHS England, also show that 18% of double-jabbed people aged 75 to 79 are likely to have received a booster, along with 8% of those aged 70 to 74.

In total, more than 2.4 million booster doses have now been delivered in England.

England's chief nursing officer, Ruth May, says it is "fantastic" that people are topping up their protection.

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Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has announced that visitors to Thailand from 10 countries who have been fully vaccinated against Covid will no longer have to quarantine when they enter the country from 1 November.

The UK is among the list of “low-risk countries”, along with Germany, China, the US and Singapore.

“When they land in Thailand, they [will] have to prove that they are Covid-free by showing their RT-PCR test result from their previous destination and they need to have another Covid test when they arrive in Thailand," the PM said in a televised address.

"After that, they can freely travel anywhere, like other Thais.”

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We've got more on that joint letter from the sectaries of state for health and education encouraging parents of secondary school pupils to get them vaccinated.

Their plea comes as the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that around one in 15 children in school years 7 to 11 in England are estimated to have had Covid in the week to 2 October.

The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) suggests that just 9% of this cohort in England had been vaccinated by 3 October.

In their letter, Zahawi and Javid ask for parents' "support" to encourage their children to test themselves for Covid-19 twice a week and to "come forward" for the jab to ensure face-to-face lessons can continue.

School unions have backed the intervention, but Geoff Barton, of the Association of School and College Leaders, says there is frustration around delays to the rollout of jabs.

"The urgency of this programme is self-evident from the fact that the latest government statistics show that more than 200,000 pupils were out of school at the latest count because of coronavirus-related reasons," he says. "Many schools are also experiencing teacher shortages because staff are contracting the virus."

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, says: "Unfortunately, one of the reasons for the slow deployment is that children are missing their chance for vaccination because they have caught Covid-19.

"If they are off sick they miss vaccination slots at school - and they cannot be jabbed while they are ill anyway - there is a 28-day waiting period before a child who has had Covid can then have the vaccine."

Whiteman is calling for other measures to be pursued - such as improved ventilation - to reduce illness and disruption and "to speed up the vaccination rollout".

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US President Joe Biden has been urging US employers to issue ultimatums to their staff: get vaccinated, or lose your job.

The president says he will soon bring in a mandate that requires all healthcare workers to have had the jab, and has urged states to do the same with teachers.

In Concord, New Hampshire, it is striking to see some of those attending a large protest against vaccine mandates wearing hospital scrubs.

Leah Cushman is prepared to lose her nursing job rather than get vaccinated.

"My beliefs are religious. I believe that my creator endowed me with an immune system that protects me, and if I get sick, that's an act of God. I would not take a medicine that affects the immune system," says Ms Cushman. She denies there is any conflict between these beliefs and the responsibilities of her job.

Read more here.

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It is "entirely unacceptable" for anti-vaccine protesters to intimidate people outside Covid vaccination centres, the first minister of Wales has said.

Mark Drakeford was speaking after a 15-year-old girl and her mum were confronted by protesters in Cardiff while going for a jab on Saturday.

He tells BBC News: "People are entitled to protest. They are not entitled to do it in a way that causes other people to feel that they have been targeted or that has taken advantage of their vulnerabilities.

"When it comes to harassment you have to see it through the eyes of the person who is affected, not through the eyes of the person who is protesting.

"Even if it wasn't the intention to frighten people and make them feel that they had been targeted, that is what people felt and that is completely unacceptable."

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As we've reported, there are warnings the UK faces an uncertain winter with the spread of coronavirus and flu combining to increase pressure on the health service.

Health officials are urging people to get a flu vaccination before winter - with more than 40 million people to be offered the jab.

People are at "more significant risk of death and of serious illness if they are co-infected" with both viruses, the head of the UK Health Protection Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, has said.

So who can get a free flu jab? Find out more here.

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China has recorded no new cases in the last 24 hours, even though there have been recent outbreaks in multiple regions, and a major public holiday has just passed.

Over the last couple of weeks, there have been recorded cases in north-west Xinjiang, north-east Heilongjiang and south-east Fujian.

It has been routine for regions to swiftly lock down communities as soon as cases are detected. Transport links are suspended, and citywide testing drives are carried out to identify any potential “silent carriers”.

This has helped prevent cases from becoming more widespread. However, China will be on high alert for potential outbreaks in the coming weeks, as half a billion tourist trips were made last week.

The first week of October is Golden Week in China. It is the second biggest travel period after the Lunar New Year, and tens of millions of people travel per day for the holidays.

Government media urged people to stay vigilant during this time; however, most people in China have now been fully vaccinated. Last month, official media said that more than 1 billion people have received two vaccine doses in China, more than 70% of the population.

The country hopes to have fully vaccinated 80% of its 1.4bn population by the end of the year. This is the local threshold that Chinese officials have set for “herd immunity”.

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford says the use of Covid passes could be extended for visitors to enter care homes and hospitals, if the coronavirus situation deteriorates over the coming months.

The new scheme, introduced from today, means people must show proof of full vaccination or a negative lateral flow result for entry to a nightclub or large event.

The first minister says settings where people may be most vulnerable to Covid are also being considered.

But Drakford insists that the new pass scheme will not be permanent and requirement to show a pass will be removed once the pandemic has eased.

There are concerns about an increasing number of pregnant women needing intensive care treatment for Covid-19, says the chief scientific advisor to the Department of Health.

Lucy Chappell, a professor in obstetrics at Kings College London, tells BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that one in three women who are hospitalised will need to have their baby delivered early.

"We understand pregnant women have been hesitant about taking the Covid-19 vaccine," she says.

"We know that pregnant women weren't included in the clinical trials but what we have seen this year is a really large increase in the data coming out, particularly from the US and from other countries such as Israel where there has been widespread uptake of Covid-19 vaccination in pregnancy. Such that all the royal colleges are very clear on the recommendation that it is safe and effective."

She says: "Having seen the impact that Covid-19 is having in pregnant women we are really clear about our recommendation for vaccination."

There are no plans to set specific targets for when civil servants working in central government departments should return to their desks, Downing Street has confirmed.

Briefing reporters this afternoon, the prime minister's official spokesman says: "We are seeing a steady return of civil servants to in-office working. That's what we would expect not just in the civil service, but in the private sector as well, and that will continue."

Asked whether specific targets will be set, he replies: "No plans for any targets, as you set out.

"The civil service is following the guidance to gradually increase the number of staff in the workplace."

He adds it is for individual departments to monitor how many civil servants return to the office.

PM Boris Johnson used a party conference speech last week to urge people to return to offices after long periods working from home due to the pandemic.

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As we've been reporting, the UK's travel red list has been cut to just seven countries - meaning more people can arrive without the need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel.

There are only seven places on the red list, with arrivals subject to the harshest restrictions:

• Colombia
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Haiti
• Panama
• Peru
• Venezuela

Fully-vaccinated passengers travelling to the UK from any non-red list country no longer have to take a Covid test before setting off.

All travellers - except children under five years old - still have to book and pay for a PCR test two days after arrival.

But the latest changes to the UK's rules does not mean there are not restrictions for UK travellers entering other countries - so, as ever, check before you book.

Read all about the current UK travel rules here.