Children’s long Covid study and Scotland’s vaccine passports

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday evening. We’ll have another update for you on Thursday morning with all the latest.

The risk of long Covid in children is much lower than many had feared, say leading child-health experts after the world’s biggest study into the issue. Researchers, led by the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said they were “reassured” by the results. Every 11 to 17-year-old testing positive for coronavirus in England from September to March was surveyed. Fifteen weeks after infection, between 1.7% and 14% of them still had some symptoms. But there’s no evidence to show that large numbers had to get help for symptoms that were so bad they had to stay in bed, or couldn’t go to school.

Vaccine passports are to be required for entry to nightclubs in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said. It would mean anyone over the age of 18 would have to show they were fully vaccinated before they were allowed into venues like clubs as well as large unseated events – indoors or outdoors – or any event with more than 10,000 attending. The plans – which will come into force from later this month – need to be signed off by MSPs next week. The aim is to stem the recent surge in Covid cases in Scotland.

The Wetherspoon chain has said some of its pubs have run out of certain beer brands because of supply issues. Brewer Molson Coors said that like many in the industry, it had been hit by an HGV driver shortage. The UK is facing a shortage of lorry drivers that hauliers have blamed on Covid and Brexit – with the government saying that more UK drivers need to be found. Logistical issues have also led to empty shelves at some supermarkets, while fast food chains Nando’s and McDonald’s have also been hit.

There have now been more than 8,000 deaths in Wales linked to coronavirus, according to the Office for National Statistics. The latest weekly figures showed 18 deaths involving Covid-19 in Wales, taking the total since the pandemic began in March last year to 8,002. There has been a big decline in deaths in the third wave compared to earlier waves so far, with 102 deaths since the start of June. During the second wave in December and January, there were an average of 49 deaths a day.

Performing to a full theatre for the first time since the pandemic began was like “coming home”, an actor has said. Nick Hayes, starring in Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Birmingham Hippodrome, said the cast had a “huge sense of gratitude”. The venue’s artistic director Fiona Allan said there had been “dark months” since last March where “we couldn’t say see a way through this” – but that opening night this week was an “extraordinary relief”.

Pupils are returning to school across the UK, but with fewer measures in place to prevent Covid cases and large numbers of pupils being sent home. So how are they being kept safe? You can find out all you need with our explainer here.

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