Here’s a roundup of the key developments from today: More than 6,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 as of 9am on Friday, latest official figures show. This is the highest single-day figure since late March. England’s R number has risen slightly to between 1 and 1.2, according to latest figures released by by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). There has likely been an increase in the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus in most areas of the UK, the latest ONS data on infections show. The Delta variant of coronavirus, first discovered in India, is anywhere between 30% to 100% more transmissible than the previously dominant Alpha (or Kent) variant, according to Prof Neil Ferguson, whose Covid modelling was key to the UK’s first lockdown. He also said the data is “pointing this week in a more negative direction than it was last week” and that it would be a “very difficult judgment call” when asked about whether the 21 June lifting of restrictions needs to be delayed. The UK regulator has approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine in children aged 12 to 15, potentially opening the way for a vaccination campaign in schoolchildren. Almost 400,000 people in the UK have reported having symptoms of long Covid for at least a year after their initial infection, data suggests, as new figures show coronavirus infection rates are once again rising in England. First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales’s coronavirus restrictions would continue to ease if the growing number of cases of the Indian variant was not leading to increased pressure on hospitals. Nicola Sturgeon has urged Scots to exercise caution as Covid restrictions ease across the country this weekend, saying the situation is “fragile” as the highest number of new cases since mid-February were reported today. The NHS cannot provide thousands of extra doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Blackburn with Darwen borough, despite it having the highest infection rate in the UK and a death rate almost a third higher than the national average. The Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, received an alert from the test-and-trace app to say he had come into contact with someone with coronavirus, less than a week after returning from Portugal. Schools are in a “precarious” situation over Covid-19 outbreaks as more are having to close multiple classes or “bubbles” amid a rise in cases involving the Delta variant first detected in India, school leaders’ unions have warned. One of the UK’s leading scientists has called on the prime minister to donate 20% of the UK’s Covid vaccines to other countries in an effort to try to save lives and stem the spread of coronavirus variants. We’re closing this live blog shortly. Thanks so much for joining us and for all the comments. For more coronavirus news, head over to our global live blog: