Germany and Switzerland set to ease restrictions – as it happened

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• Coronavirus restrictions ease across Europe despite high case rates
• Five- to 11-year-old children in England to be offered Covid vaccine
• Scotland to offer Covid jab to all children aged five to 11, says Sturgeon
• UK slower than many in offering Covid jabs to younger children
• See all our coronavirus coverage

British ministers' plans to scale back free PCR Covid tests could weaken the UK's defences if a new variant of the virus emerges that results in significant new waves" of cases, a group representing local public health chiefs has warned.

Before a meeting of cabinet ministers and the prime minister later this week to discuss the learning to live with Covid" strategy, the Association of Public Health Directors (APHD) said that forcing people to pay for lateral flow tests would also have a detrimental impact" on take-up, particularly among disadvantaged communities.