Here are the coronavirus morning headlines for Thursday, April 1, as details of the l ifting of more restrictions in Wales is announced.
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has warned that "we can't let our guard down yet" as Welsh Government set out a timetable for the easing of lockdown.
Outdoor hospitality in Wales, including cafes, pubs and restaurants, could reopen from Monday, April 26.
Organised outdoor activities and outdoor wedding receptions, both limited to 30 people, will be allowed from May 3, with gyms, leisure centres and fitness facilities in Wales allowed to reopen from May 10.
As long as rates remain low people will be able to bubble together to form extended households from May 10, meaning they can have contact inside with family and friends for the first time since Christmas Day. Key dates are here.
The Welsh Government said the changes, subject to Wales' public health situation, were part of its "step-by-step" approach of relaxing rules and took account of the now-dominant and highly-infectious Kent strain of Covid-19.
It said the number of cases of the virus in Wales was "generally falling" and that pressure on the NHS was continuing to ease.
The infection rate across Wales is now 36.8 per 100,000 people, based on the seven days up to March 26 - a drop from 37.6 on Tuesday. Cases in your area here.
Meanwhile the percentage of tests coming back with positive results is now 2.6%, way below the key benchmark of 5%.
Speaking ahead of a Welsh Government press briefing at 12.15pm, First Minister Mark Drakeford said stable rates of Covid cases and the success of the vaccination programme meant ministers had headroom to consider more relaxations.
He said: "The review we have concluded this week, means we can continue with our programme of further re-opening of the economy and loosening the restrictions in place."
Mr Drakeford added: "With the weather improving, with more opportunities to see family and friends, there are reasons for optimism.
"However, we can't let our guard down yet.
"We all still need to be vigilant, we still need to do our part to keep this deadly disease at bay."
Mr Drakeford will confirm at Thursday's press conference the reopening of all close contact services and shops from April 12, completing the phased reopening of non-essential retail.
The last domestic travel restrictions will also be lifted to allow people to move between Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom and Common Travel Area.
All school pupils and post-16 learners can return to face-to-face teaching, and university campuses can reopen for blended face-to-face and online learning for all students from the same date.
Viewings at wedding venues can also resume by appointment, outdoor canvassing for elections can begin, and planning for a small number of outdoor pilot events of between 200 and 1,000 people will begin.
The pilots will be chosen for cultural and sports events across Wales, including a potential stadium event.
The Welsh Government said it working with the Muslim Council to try to incorporate the trials to help people celebrate Eid at the end of Ramadan.
The Government also said it would make preparations so whichever party leads the country after the May 6 Welsh Parliament election could consider allowing children's indoor activities, community centres, and organised indoor activities for adults for up to 15 people to resume from Monday May 17.
After May 17, considerations could be made to enable indoor hospitality and remaining visitor accommodation to reopen in advance of the Spring Bank Holiday.
The Welsh Government said all the changes would see Wales move fully into Alert Level 3 by May 17, "subject to public health conditions remaining favourable".
Super-spreader events infect more than 50 people
People partying indoors and having household gatherings has resulted in at least 50 positive coronavirus cases with four schools affected in Swansea.
Swansea Bay University Health Board have said that over a quarter of current Swansea Covid-19 cases have been traced to a number of household gatherings in the north of the city.
At least 50 new positive cases out of a total of 185 reported across the city last week have been linked to people who attended the indoor get-togethers in the Clase area.
As well as partying indoors some people have been regularly popping in and out of each other’s homes – driving infection rates up.
The Clase gatherings have now resulted in Covid spreading across a wider area of the city. Two large clusters of Covid cases have been identified along with three small family clusters while four schools have been affected. Investigations are continuing and more cases may be found, authorities have said.
It comes shortly after another household gathering in Briton Ferry which led to 23 people testing positive for Covid-19.
Few people self isolate with Covid symptoms
Fewer than one in five people request a Covid-19 test if they have symptoms, while adherence to self-isolation is low, according to a large study examining the Test and Trace system.
Experts, including from the Public Health England (PHE) behavioural science team at Porton Down in Wiltshire, found that only half of people could identify the main coronavirus symptoms, which include a cough, high temperature and loss of taste or smell.
Just 18% of those with symptoms said they had requested a test, while only 43% with symptoms in the previous seven days adhered to full self-isolation.
The findings, published in The BMJ, are based on 74,697 responses to online surveys from 53,880 people aged 16 or older living in the UK.
In total, 37 survey waves were carried out from March 2 last year to January 27 this year, with about 2,000 participants in each wave.
The results showed that only 52% of people could identify the main symptoms of Covid-19, and this did not really improve as time went on.
Across all waves, 43% of people adhered to rules around self-isolation, though this improved in January to 52%.
Men, younger people and those with young children were less likely to self-isolate, as were those from more working-class backgrounds, people experiencing greater financial hardship, and those working in key sectors.
Common reasons for not fully self-isolating included to go to the shops or work, for a medical need other than Covid-19, to care for a vulnerable person, to exercise or meet others, or because symptoms were only mild or got better.
France goes into third national lockdown
French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a three-week nationwide school closure and a month-long domestic travel ban, as the rapid spread of coronavirus ramped up pressure on hospitals.
In a televised address to the nation, Mr Macron said efforts are needed as "the epidemic is accelerating".
"We're going to close nursery, elementary and high schools for three weeks," he said, adding that a nationwide 7pm-6am curfew will be kept in place.
"If we stay united in the coming weeks... then we will see light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
Mr Macron said restrictions already applying in the Paris region and others parts of north and eastern France will be extended to the whole country, for at least one month.
Under these restrictions, people are allowed to go outside for leisure, but within a 10-kilometre radius from their homes - and without gathering. Also most non-essential shops are closed down.
The move is a departure from the government's policy in recent months, which has focused on regionalised restrictions.
School closures in particular had been seen as a very last resort.
An overnight nationwide curfew has been in place since January, and all France's restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas and museums have been closed since October.
One in three hospital patients with Covid-19 need readmission
Nearly a third of Covid-19 hospital patients need to be readmitted within a month of being sent home, a study suggests.
More than one in 10 died after they had been discharged.
Hospital patients with Covid-19 have "increased rates of multiorgan dysfunction" compared with the general population, researchers found.
They said that people who have post-Covid syndrome need to get "integrated rather than organ or disease specific" care.
The study, published in The BMJ, examined data on almost 48,000 patients who had been admitted to hospital with Covid-19 and were sent home before August 31 last year.
They also examined information on the same number of people - or so-called "matched controls" - who had not been admitted to hospital.
Experts, led by researchers from the University of Leicester, examined whether people needed to be readmitted, death rates and diagnoses of respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, kidney and liver diseases.
After an average follow-up period of 140 days, nearly a third - or 14,060 of 47,780 - were readmitted.
And during the follow-up period more than one in 10 (5,875) died after discharge.
Rates of respiratory disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were also significantly raised in Covid-19 patients, the authors said.
The rate of multiorgan dysfunction after discharge was greater among patients under the age of 70 compared with those over 70, they found, and the rate was higher in ethnic minority groups than in the white population.
The authors called for more research to be done to "establish risk factors".
British instinct could be against vaccine passports - Labour leader
The British instinct could be against using vaccine passports if the coronavirus is brought properly under control, Sir Keir Starmer has suggested.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, the Labour leader indicated that there could be opposition to the idea amongst the public if death rates are near zero and hospital admissions are very low.
It comes as hospitality and retail bosses warn that the use of vaccine passports or certification for customers entering venues could face "legal concerns" and create enforcement problems for businesses.
Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that pubs and other venues could use vaccine passports, before backtracking slightly to clarify that this may only be introduced once all UK adults have been offered a vaccination.
Mr Johnson is due to set out more details in early April on potentially introducing such a scheme.
Sir Keir said: "My instinct is that, as the vaccine is rolled out, as the number of hospital admissions and deaths go down, there will be a British sense that we don't actually want to go down this road."
He continued: "I think this is really difficult and I'm not going to pretend there's a clear black and white, yes-no easy answer on this.
"It is extremely difficult.
"My instinct is that... (if) we get the virus properly under control, the death rates are near zero, hospital admissions very, very low, that the British instinct in those circumstances will be against vaccine passports."
Mr Johnson has previously said that he acknowledges the "moral complexities" around bringing in a domestic vaccine passport scheme.
