Coronavirus live news: US approves Johnson & Johnson vaccine; Auckland starts second lockdown in a month

Australian state of Victoria reports zero new cases; Auckland seven-day lockdown begins; UK records lowest cases in five months

• Concerns grow as UK Covid testing labs scaled back before even opening
• House approves $1.9tn Covid aid bill despite minimum wage setback
• New Zealand: Auckland to go into seven-day Covid lockdown
• See all our coronavirus coverage

12.30am GMT

Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, woke up on Sunday morning to a second lockdown in a month as health authorities try to rein in a coronavirus cluster of the more contagious UK variant.

Reuters: The seven-day lockdown, announced late Saturday by prime minister Jacinda Ardern, follows a three-day stay-at-home order in mid-February after a local emergence of the UK variant of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

12.28am GMT

Hello and welcome to today’s live global coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

I’m Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours.

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