Health officials in England have located the missing person who tested positive for the coronavirus variant first detected in Brazil. More below:

Coronavirus cases are continuing to fall across England, though there is some uncertainty surrounding regional trends, new data show.

Under the current estimates, for every 10 individuals who catch Covid, a further seven to nine people will become infected.

The Office for National Statistics said the percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 in the latest figures had decreased in all regions except for northeast England, the east midlands and eastern England, where it said the trend was uncertain.

Our reporter Samuel Lovett has the full story:

The missing person who tested positive for the Brazilian variant of concern in the UK has been found, the BBC is reporting.

Anthony Fauci has strongly objected to recent moves by some states to relax their Covid-19 precautions, calling the decision to do so “inexplicable”.

“I don’t know why they’re doing it, but it certainly from a public health standpoint is ill-advised,” a visibly dejected Dr Fauci told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “It is just inexplicable why you would want to pull back now.”

The governors of Texas and Mississippi both announced on Tuesday that they were lifting mask mandates and allowing all businesses in their states to fully reopen, citing progress on vaccinations and a recent downturn in coronavirus numbers.

Nathan Place reports on the story:

The British public is being urged to join a mass slow handclap on Thursday evening in protest against the government’s proposed 1 per cent rise for NHS staff.

Unison has announced the plan to mark opposition to the “insulting” size of the planned increase for health service staff – which has sparked a furious backlash since it emerged from chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget.

The organisation, which is the largest union in the UK, said people should stand on their doorsteps and balconies on 11 March at 8pm to show what they think about the “derisory” wage plan.

Our reporter Adam Forrest has the full story:

The Welsh government will consider whether stay-at-home coronavirus regulations can be lifted at next week’s review of the rules.

Health minister Vaughan Gething said ministers are debating whether to introduce a “stay local” requirement or to allow unlimited travel across the country.

He said the seven-day incidence rate across Wales has fallen to 50 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people – the lowest since mid-September.

The R number remains below one and the test positivity rate is 5.4 per cent.

Gething told the Welsh government’s press briefing in Cardiff today: “Yesterday, there were fewer than 450 people with confirmed coronavirus in hospitals across Wales – that’s the lowest number since 17 October.”

Less than 60 hours before an unprecedented exit permit will be required from outbound travellers, the government has revealed details of the new “Declaration to Travel”.

From Monday 8 March, anyone who enters “a port of departure to travel internationally” without a completed form will be committing a criminal offence – even if they are legally entitled to travel.

Airlines, train operators and ferry companies will be required to check that passengers have a valid reason to travel abroad.

At present, all holidays – at home or overseas – are illegal under the “stay-at-home” rule. The earliest possible date for going abroad from England for leisure is 17 May.

Simon Calder, our travel correspondent, has more on this:

Canada health regulator has cleared a Johnson & Johnson vaccine that works with just one dose instead of two, sources said.

The jab is the country’s fourth vaccine as health experts were eager for a single-shot option to help speed vaccination. Canada has also approved vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Like many nations, Canada does not have domestic production and has struggled with a shortage of vaccines.

Canada has pre-purchased 10 million Johnson & Johnson doses, with options to buy another 28 million.

The US approved J&J last month. The US Food and Drug Administration said the vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospital admissions and death.

One dose was 85 per cent protective against the most severe Covid-19 illness in a massive study that spanned three continents – protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading.

A further 174 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 84,091, NHS England said today.

Patients were aged between 26 and 102. All except six, aged between 61 and 89, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between 13 April and 4 March, with the majority being on or after the beginning of this month.

There were 30 other deaths reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

A total of 18,835,355 Covid-19 vaccinations were administered in England between 8 December and 4 March, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 365,433 on the previous day’s figures.

Of this number, 18,106,090 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 320,388 on the previous day, while 729,265 were a second dose, an increase of 45,045.

NHS England data shows 2,282,797 jabs were given to people in London, including 2,185,144 first doses and 97,653 second doses.

This compares with 3,527,175 first doses and 126,482 second doses given to people in the midlands, a total of 3,653,657.

The breakdown for the other regions is:

• East of England – 2,139,366 first doses and 89,143 second doses, making 2,228,509 in total
• Northeast and Yorkshire – 2,793,307 first and 113,572 second doses (2,906,879)
• Northwest – 2,376,569 first and 89,716 second doses (2,466,285)
• Southeast – 2,906,059 first and 125,017 second doses (3,031,076)
• Southwest – 2,087,500 first and 87,028 second doses (2,174,528)