Coronavirus live news: Greece to end quarantine from some countries next week; France stops all flights from Brazil over variant fears

Greece to end quarantine for EU and five other countries including UK; French PM says P.1 variant partly to blame for fuelling third wave in France

• UK study on mixing Covid vaccines between jabs to be expanded
  
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• Australia should make vaccine rollout ‘top priority’, Anthony Fauci says
• A gold nose pin, eggs, a tax rebate: vaccine incentives around the world
  
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4.05pm BST

Brazil’s richest and most populous state, Sao Paulo, has warned its ability to care for seriously ill Covid-19 patients is on the verge of collapse as it runs perilously low on key drugs, according to a letter to the federal government seen by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Sao Paulo state said it expects to run out of crucial intubation drugs, needed to sedate patients, in the next few days, the paper reported on Wednesday.

3.56pm BST

AstraZeneca said it respected the decision of Danish health regulators to stop using the company’s Covid-19 vaccine altogether because of a possible link to cases of a very rare type of blood clot.

“We recognise and respect the decision taken by Sundhedsstyrelsen (health agency) in Denmark,” the company said in a statement, adding it was a matter for each country to decide over vaccination programmes based on local conditions.

Oscars in talks to use BFI Southbank for Academy Awards show

After initially rejecting Zoom appearances from overseas nominees, the Oscars is setting up ‘hubs’ internationally to allow participation

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) is in talks with the British Film Institute (BFI) to use the latter’s cinema complex, BFI Southbank, as part of the forthcoming Oscars ceremony, according to a report in Variety.

Citing “multiple sources”, Variety says that Ampas is looking to use BFI Southbank, in London’s Waterloo, as one of the international “hubs” for its awards show, which is due to take place on Sunday 25 April in Los Angeles.

Roman site uncovered in Scarborough hailed as first of its kind in UK

Remains of buildings near Yorkshire town said to be ‘most important Roman discovery of last decade’

When developers broke ground on the outskirts of Scarborough, they were hoping to build a housing estate ideal for first-time buyers, families and professionals, with en suites, off-street parking and integrated kitchens galore. But before shovels had even hit earth, they found someone else had got there first: the Romans.

The remains of a Roman settlement believed to be the first of its kind discovered in Britain – and possibly the whole Roman empire – has been uncovered near the North Yorkshire seaside town.

Bernie Madoff, financier behind largest Ponzi scheme in history, dies in prison

Madoff died aged 82 in Butner, North Carolina, apparently from natural causes

Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in a federal prison, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

Madoff died at the Federal medical center in Butner, North Carolina, apparently from natural causes, the person said.

Single Pfizer or AstraZeneca dose produces strong antibody response

Scientists say AstraZeneca vaccine has greater effect when it comes to cellular response

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A single dose of either the Oxford/AstraZeneca or the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine generates a big protective antibody response against the coronavirus in people 80 and over, researchers have found.

The first study to look at the comparative performance of the two vaccines that have been in use in the UK in recent months shows that 93% of people develop antibodies against the coronavirus spike protein by five to six weeks after a single Pfizer jab, and 87% after a single AstraZeneca one.