The European Union has extended its Covid-19 vaccine contract with Pfizer-BioNTech until the end of 2023.

The contract, which represents a possible 1.8bn future doses, ensures that all essential vaccine components are sourced from the EU.

EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that the contract guarantees 900m doses and 900m options and that other contracts will follow.

She added that the next stages of the EU’s response to Covid-19 includes delivering booster shots, dealing with possible variants and preparing to vaccinate children and teenagers.

Pfizer-BioNTech had an initial contract of 600 million doses with the EU.

Scotland has recorded zero Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

Announcing new figures, the Scottish government noted that registry offices are usually closed at the weekend.

Their data also shows that 224 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the last day.

The daily test positivity rate stands at 1.2 per cent.

Long-distance couples say they feel “completely forgotten” about by the British government as they remain separated by international travel restrictions.

From 17 May, Brits will be allowed to travel to a small number of countries including Portugal and Israel relatively restriction-free, but those with partners living elsewhere don’t know when they will be allowed to see their loved ones again without undergoing self-isolation or quarantine and expensive tests.

Alyssa Pallotti, from Texas, has been separated from her partner Jacob Greenwood who lives in Berkshire for the better part of the last year. She said: “I’ve heard the UK government talking about holidays, holidays, holidays when it comes to this green list, and we feel very forgotten.

“We are actually classed as leisure travel: seeing your partner is not considered essential. In the US or UK, it is considered a luxury.”

She added that the visits she has been able to undertake since the start of the pandemic have cost her thousands of dollars and that she has had to quarantine before them for weeks at a time.

Garrett Leibovitz, from Kansas, has not been able to see his fiancee Vanessa Torres Gonzales who lives in London for 15 months.

He said: “People on Twitter act like we are selfish for wanting to travel. But it has been 15 months, and multiple countries have made exemptions for couples, and I don’t see why the UK and US can’t do that either.

“It’s not about holidays, it is about reconnecting families.”

“Despite a series of major errors during the pandemic and presiding over Europe’s highest Covid death toll, Boris Johnson woke up to news this morning that his Conservative Party had won the Hartlepool seat for the first time in 62 years,” Sean O’Grady writes.

The NHS has announced that it will rapidly expand mental health services for children and young people as they process the disruption of the pandemic.

Around 400 mental health support teams covering 3,000 schools will be up and running by 2023, the NHS said.

They added that this represents an acceleration of their Long Term Plan, a £79m initiative to boost support for youngsters in England.

Chief executive Simon Stevens said: “Coronavirus has taken its toll on us all, not least children who have been stuck at home unable to see their friends and without the routine of school life. So it’s an urgent necessity to expand services as we are doing, after what will have been for many a year of turmoil.

“Increasing investment in mental health services, particularly for children and young people, is a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan but we are now going even further and faster, because offering help and support early, before problems get worse, can sometimes prevent problems persisting into adulthood.”

Fresh lockdown measures came into effect in Pakistan today, with all businesses and transport closing for a week.

The strict measures will encompass Eid, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which would usually be widely celebrated in the country in large groups.

Pakistan reported 120 deaths and 4105 new Covid cases on Friday.

Two south Indian states have announced complete lockdowns to combat the nation’s spiralling Covid case and death rates.

A total shutdown came into effect in Karnataka on Friday, while its neighbour Tamil Nadu will enter full lockdown on Monday.

Both states have seen a surge in Covid cases amid India’s deadly second wave. India’s health ministry reported 4,187 deaths in the last 24 hours – the nation’s highest ever in a single day.

Around half of India’s states are in full lockdown, with the others in partial lockdown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far resisted calls for a nationwide lockdown.

Holiday companies TUI and Hays Travel have noted a surge in bookings following the government’s announcement of green list destinations.

But some say the number of countries on the list is too small to prompt real interest in foreign travel.

Mark Pollard, managing director of Tony Sheldon Travel, said: “One of the problems with this list is it’s very limiting, the only major tourist destination is Portugal, this is all too little and too early to say.

“It’s a damp squib announcement, there isn’t enough there to prompt the kind of interest the industry is desperate for.”

Mr Pollard added that he believes the announcement was a “tick box” exercise to keep holiday companies happy and that it’s unlikely to make a huge difference until more European countries are added.

Holiday companies are seeing a surge in bookings after the government announced its green list for international travel, with Portugal the most popular destination.

A spokeswoman for the world’s largest travel and tourism company, TUI, said: ““We’ve had the best day of sales for summer 2021 holidays since the initial road map announcement in February.”

She added that sixty per cent of all holiday sales yesterday were for trips to Portugal.

Hays Travel experienced a similar uptick in bookings in the lead-up to the government’s announcement.

Dame Irene Hays, the company’s chair, said: “This week, Hays Travel branches all over the UK have been at their busiest since the pandemic began, helping our customers to book a holiday for when and where it’s safe to do so.

“More customers are now booking for this year to make sure they don’t miss out on choice or price.”

Divorce enquiries to legal firms have surged by 95 per cent in the wake of the pandemic with women making up the majority of queries, new figures show.

Data from the UK’s largest family law firm, shared withThe Independent, shows the proportion of enquiries surged from 4,505 in January to March last year to 8,801 queries between January and March of this year.

Continue reading Women’s Correspondent Maya Oppenheim’s exclusive report here: