Covid-19: Restrictions ease for some, while university finds few positive cases - BBC News
Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Friday morning.
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Friday morning. We'll have another update for you at 18:00 GMT.

Non-essential shops across much of western Scotland - including Glasgow - are reopening for the first time in three weeks. It comes as more than two million people across 11 council areas move from being subject to the country's toughest Covid restrictions under level four to level three in the tiered system. Pubs and restaurants will have to remain closed until Saturday.

Northern Ireland's non-essential retailers are reopening, along with restaurants, cafes and other venues serving food. There's a limited reopening, too, for hair and beauty salons, gyms and outdoor sports venues. However, pubs that do not serve food must remain shut and Health Minister Robin Swann is warning against a "festive free-for-all".

The mass Covid testing of students before Christmas has so far resulted in just 0.2% testing positive at the University of Portsmouth, says its vice-chancellor. That's fewer than two a day, on average. There are no national figures yet, and it is not known whether early findings are representative, but the University of Cambridge found no positive cases among more than 10,000 students without symptoms screened last week, with nine cases confirmed from 71 who felt ill.

Lockdowns and other restrictions on trade and movement around the globe have driven a 7% drop in CO2 emissions, the biggest annual fall since World War Two, a study indicates. The UK has seen the second-largest reduction, measuring 13%, mainly because of measures taken to tackle the second wave of infections, the Global Carbon Project says.

It's been a tough year for those kept apart from relatives in care homes. So when Jacqueline Mason accidentally got on the wrong bus and faced missing her allocated time-slot for visiting her mum, she broke down in tears. But thanks to an impromptu detour by driver Alec Bailey and the understanding of fellow passengers, all was not lost... she even ended up on TV. Read the heart-warming tale.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jacqueline Mason got to see mother Eileen McGrugan in time

...with restrictions eased in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, you can check the latest rules wherever you are in the UK.

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