As it happened: No change to roadmap out of lockdown, Johnson says

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We'll soon be bringing our coronavirus live page to a pause for the day, but before we do here is a recap of the main stories from today.

• The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, Boris Johnson has said, adding he will be receiving it himself on Friday. The benefits of the vaccine preventing Covid far outweigh any risks, the prime minister said, as he urged people to take up the jab when offered
• The PM also insisted there will be no change to the UK's roadmap out of lockdown as a result of vaccine supply delays
• There is no evidence the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots, say UK and EU regulators after a "thorough and careful review". The MHRA and the EMA say people can have confidence in the vaccine's benefits and should get immunised, despite some countries pausing use
• The outlook for the UK economy remains "unusually uncertain" despite the rapid rollout of the vaccine programme, the Bank of England has said. It said it expected an economic rebound this year, as lockdown measures were eased and government support for jobs continued
• The French capital Paris is set to go into a month-long Covid lockdown as the country fears a third wave.Another 15 regions in the country will also be placed under the same measures from Friday
• Tanzania's President John Magufuli has died aged 61, following rumours he had contracted Covid-19. He died on Wednesday from heart complications at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, the country's vice-president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, said in an address on state television

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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has sued a leading independent newspaper for defamation after accusing it of publishing a "malicious" allegation against him about Covid-19 vaccines.

The Daily Monitor quoted a report in the US-based Wall Street Journal alleging Museveni and his inner circle had secretly been inoculated before the rest of the population.

The president denied the report, published on 23 February, and in two separate national addresses over the past couple of weeks, he has demanded a front-page apology from the Daily Monitor. It issued a "clarification" earlier this week.

The president's petition, filed in the High Court, described the story as intentionally reckless and malicious, and said it had painted him as a dishonest person.

In a televised address on Sunday, Museveni said he was still considering which of the globally-approved vaccines to take.

He added he wanted people who are most at risk, such as health workers, to be vaccinated first.

Uganda has so far received more than 860,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. More than 4,000 people, most of them frontline workers, have already been vaccinated.

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a Downing Street coronavirus briefing that delays to vaccine supply next month will not affect England's roadmap out of lockdown.

Watch more in the above clip.

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The NHS Louisa Jordan temporary hospital in Glasgow is to close at the end of March.

The £38m hospital at the Scottish Event Campus was built in just two weeks early in the pandemic amid fears the NHS could be overwhelmed.

Its main role, however, has been in the delivery of vaccinations to about 175,000 people and as a base for outpatient appointments - it was not needed to treat patients with the virus.

The nearby SSE Hydro will take over its role as a mass vaccination centre.

Staff based at NHS Louisa Jordan will return to their health boards or the vaccination programme.

The building itself will revert to being an events and conference centre, and is due to play a key role in the COP26 climate change conference later this year.

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France will resume vaccinating people with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from tomorrow, Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced.

A number of European countries suspended the use of the jab following reports of blood clots in some recipients.

But a review by the EU's medicines regulator today concluded the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is "safe and effective".

"I will be vaccinated tomorrow afternoon with this vaccine to show that we can fully trust it," Castex says.

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It comes as he announced new restrictions for 16 departments - or administrative regions - in France.

The Paris region, the Hauts-de-France region, and the departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Seine-Maritime and Eure will be in lockdown, starting from Friday midnight and for four weeks.

Like in March and in November, only essential shops will be able to open but this time bookshops and record stores will be allowed to stay open.

The schools will remain open as well as middle schools.

"The progression of the epidemic is accelerating" says the PM this evening, with 35,000 new cases in the past 24 hours and a 23.6% increase in new cases in one week.

He says this is caused by the British variant, which represents three quarters of the new cases.

You can read more about the situation in France here.

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Wales expects to have 250,000 fewer doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming weeks due to supply disruption, Mark Drakeford says.

The first minister says he hopes the top nine priority groups will still be offered the vaccine by mid-April.

But Mr Drakeford tells Newyddion S4C he cannot rule out those who already have appointments being affected.

"Losing a quarter of a million doses - you can't do that without it having some impact," he says.

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A primary school in Hull is being closed for two days following "several" positive coronavirus tests.

In a letter to parents, Bricknell Primary School acting head teacher Nicola Waites says they are also awaiting the results of further tests.

The 630-pupil school is being deep-cleaned today and tomorrow ahead of re-opening on Monday, she adds.

Hull City Council says a third of schools in the city have closed some educational "bubbles".

Ms Waites says a number of members of the "school community" returned positive Covid-19 tests at the end of last week, with more this week.

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Avoid crowds, only hang out with your closest circle and keep following Sweden’s coronavirus rules and recommendations.

That was the message sternly delivered by Sweden’s Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, at a news conference in Stockholm this evening.

The Swedish leader warned citizens the Covid-19 “marathon” wasn’t over yet and the virus doesn’t take a break during public holiday weekends.

People should be mindful about avoiding activities that could cause an increase in infection, he said.

Sweden is continuing to report high numbers of new coronavirus cases and more than 13,000 people have died in the country of just 10 million.

At the news conference, Johan Carlson, head of the Swedish Public Health Agency, repeated warnings made by the country’s top epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, earlier this month that Sweden risks plunging into a third wave if the public does not continue to follow its guidelines.

However, Carlson stopped short of asking people to stop domestic travel altogether over Easter, merely asking people to “socialise safely” if they chose to travel to meet others.

Sweden has never had a lockdown but has toughened its approach in recent months.

Shops and gyms must limit numbers to make at least 10 metres of space available per customer and there’s a rule-of-four in restaurants and bars, reduced to one person per table in cafes inside shopping malls and large retail stores.

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Twenty-six Algerians returning home from the UK have been stuck in transit at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for the past three weeks.

The group, including two young girls and a 75-year-old woman, flew from Heathrow Airport on 26 February.

In Paris they were told by Air Algeria they could not continue their journey, reportedly because of Covid measures.

They have since been living rough in the transit area of Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle.

The 26 men, women and children have been sleeping on chairs or on the floor, eating food provided by sympathisers.

Air Algeria initially gave them food vouchers, but stopped when they refused the company's offer to fly them back to London.

They have access to showers in a zone of the airport where there is a hotel, but they are charged €20 (£17; $24) to use them. They also receive a doctor's visit every day.

Read more here.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been giving a coronavirus news conference at Downing Street. Here are some of the key points:

• The PM says the UK's medicines regulator, the MHRA, has confirmed the benefits of getting the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine "far outweigh any risks", in response to concerns about a small number of people getting blood clots after receiving a jab
• MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine says the "rigorous scientific review" shows there is "no difference" in the number of blood clots occuring in people who have had the jab compared with those who have not
• England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, says the findings support the overwhelming view of scientists across the globe - that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe
• Johnson says the continued fast pace of the country's vaccine rollout will help life to get back to normal
• He says the UK should have "no anxiety" about its vaccine supply, despite the warning of a dip in available jabs for next month
• Johnson adds that the Indian government hasn't blocked any exports to the UK and says the delay is due to various technical reasons
• The PM also revealed he will get his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine tomorrow.

Alex Brown of The Scotsman asks when the 800,000 Scots living in England will be able to go home to see their families.

He also asks if Nicola Sturgeon should resign if it is found she broke the ministerial code. (You can read some background on this here.)

Boris Johnson says there is no change in the roadmap adding that everyone should "use commons sense in the application of rules".

On the Nicola Sturgeon question, he says that is a matter for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish electorate.

And there the briefing ends.

Macer Hall from the Daily Express asks if there is any evidence that the suspension of the Oxford vaccine in some European countries has had an impact on people not turning up for vaccination appointments or asking for another vaccine.

He also asks if the PM will observe a silence to mark the anniversary of the start of the first lockdown.

Prof Whitty says there are "anecdotal reports" that a small number of people have not turned up following the news.

He says in contrast "almost record numbers" of people have been taking up the vaccine.

He says anyone who is doubtful should think about the danger of Covid and the safety of vaccines.

The PM says he will "of course" mark the anniversary of the first lockdown.

He adds that the government is looking into the idea of a memorial for those who have died as a result of Covid-19.

Steven Swinford from the Times asks Prof Whitty how confident he is that England will be able to proceed with its next stage of lockdown easing, on 12 April, now that children have been able to return to classrooms.

Prof Whitty thanks teachers and other school staff who have done a "really terrific job" to make schools as safe as possible and keep transmission of the virus low.

He is expecting that schools going back will put some upward pressure on the R rate, he says, but "the roadmap was planned with that possibility absolutely in mind".

Whitty says it's too soon to say what the "full impact" is of schools reopening again, as it takes a while for data to come in and be analysed fully.

"It is important that we stick to this 'data not dates' approach, but there is nothing at the moment that is flashing red lights beyond what you'd expect," he says, adding: "We'll just have to see what the data show."

Times Radio's Tom Newton-Dunn asks if GPs are banned from vaccinating under-50s even if they have stock and have done all their priority groups.

He also asks if the Indian government was involved in blocking the delivery of vaccines from India to the UK.

To the first question, Prof Chris Whitty says it is important to ensure people aren't left behind "because we're racing down the age groups".

He adds the key priority is to contact all those in the high-risk groups. "We absolutely then want to move down the ages," he adds.

On the second question, Boris Johnson says the Indian government hasn't stopped any exports.

He praises the Serum Institute (the Indian firm making some of the vaccines) and says the delay is due to various technical reasons.

It's been a week when the vaccine programme has hit its first really major bump since the start of the rollout.

Concerns voiced in Europe risk threatening another, if they put people off getting their vaccine.

So there's a real effort by the Prime Minister to reassure on three fronts this evening:

• Firstly, that the AstraZeneca jab is safe; the Prime Minister was keen to stress it's the one he himself is getting this week
• Secondly, that the vaccine programme is still on track
• Thirdly, that so too is the roadmap out of lockdown.

Emily Morgan from ITV asks if the vaccine supply issue might mean the government fails one of the tests it has set itself to ease restrictions.

The PM says "no".

"We'll be able to meet the targets in exactly the way I've described," he adds.

He says easing restrictions on 12 April will enable the government to "get on" with its timetable for unlocking restrictions.

But he says this still remains dependent on the four tests the government has set out continuing to be met.

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The BBC's Fergus Walsh asks if the safety concerns over the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine might have put some people off having their jab.

The PM says the best testimony he can give is of the views of the medical professionals around him - as well as of the European medicine regulator, which earlier today published new findings to confirm there was no additional risk of blood clots in people who have had the jab.

Prof Whitty adds the "overwhelming professional view" in the global scientific comunity is that the vaccines are very safe and effective.

"It is clear that the British public also have taken that message," he says, pointing to figures which suggest the uptake of the jab has been over 90% in the age groups that have already been offered the vaccine.

"The general public is, as always, sensible and steady on this - they understand this is a dangerous disease and [an] effective vaccine," he adds.

The panel are now asked if supply will be at risk, if the EU blocks vaccine exports.

"People should be under no anxiety about that," the PM replies.

He says the vaccines are part of "a multi-national effort, produced as a result of international co-operation".

"We will continue to co-operate with our European friends," he adds.

Jane from Buckinghamshire asks if the UK can provide stats to prove the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe.

Dr Raine says "yes we can - we're committed to transparency".

She says the MHRA publishes all of the adverse drug reactions.

Prof Chris Whitty, England's deputy chief medical officer, says all drugs come with some risk, explaining that even aspirin can cause problems.

He says the risk benefit of the AstraZeneca jab is "really in favour" of getting vaccinated.