Here are the latest updates on the ongoing coronavirus crisis:

HOMESCHOOLING during this lockdown has had a greater negative impact on the wellbeing of parents and children than in spring last year, figures suggest.

Half of parents said homeschooling amid the latest wave of school closures had affected their wellbeing, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found.

This is higher than the more than a quarter (28 per cent) of parents who reported this in April last year – when schools were closed during the first lockdown.

Nearly two in three (63 per cent) parents said homeschooling was now having a negative impact on their children’s wellbeing, compared to 43 per cent in April.

The ONS analysed responses from parents across Britain between January 13 and February 7 as part of its Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

THE Duke of Cambridge has paid tribute to the “hard work” of the military in supporting the vaccine rollout to the elderly and vulnerable.

More than 5,000 members of the Armed Forces are helping to establish and operate vaccination centres across the UK and Overseas Territories, bringing hope to those shielding – some for almost a year.

During a video call with five military personnel taking part in the vaccine rollout, the duke was told how those venturing outside for the first time in months for their inoculations put on their “best dresses” or excitedly talked non-stop.

William thanked the group for their efforts, saying: “I really appreciate all the hard work you guys are doing at the moment. It’s making a huge difference.”

THE UK policy of leaving 12 weeks between doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine boosts the jab’s effectiveness, a new study has found.

A single dose of the vaccine offers 76 per cent protection against Covid-19 from 22 days after vaccination, and this does not wane by the three-month mark, researchers say.

With three months between the two doses, there was an overall efficacy of 81 per cent – compared to 55 per cent for a six-week interval, according to the University of Oxford research published in The Lancet.

But the researchers are urging people to have two doses of the vaccine because they say it is not yet clear how long protection with a single dose of the vaccine may last.

THE boss of Young’s has said that pubs must have the same restrictions as July when they reopen following the latest lockdown in order to avoid thousands more job losses.

Patrick Dardis, chief executive officer, told the PA news agency that anything less would be “unviable” if pub doors are kept shut until May.

It comes ahead of the Prime Minister’s announcement of the “road map” out of lockdown on Monday, with reports this week suggesting pubs could have to wait until the start of May to reopen.

Mr Dardis, who leads the 190-year-old pub owner and brewer, said that he was desperate for clarity after the sector was placed in a “standstill” after Christmas.

“My greatest fear is that we are not given clear reopening plans on Monday,” he told PA.

THE North-East and Yorkshire has the highest R rate for Covid in England, new figures reveal.

The latest UK-wide figures for R and the growth rate, which estimates how quickly the number of infections is changing day by day, are provided by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

Released today, February 19, the latest R estimate for the whole of the UK is between 0.6 and 0.9, and the growth rate estimate for the UK is now between -6 per cent and -3 per cent.

The Government said a further 533 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Friday, bringing the UK total to 119,920.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 139,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government also said that, as of 9am on Friday, there had been a further 12,027 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total in the UK to 4,095,269.

A TOTAL of 14,718,938 Covid-19 vaccinations took place in England between December 8 and February 18, according to provisional NHS England data, including first and second doses, which is a rise of 400,823 on the previous day’s figures.

Of this number, 14,214,176 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 396,262 on the previous day, while 504,762 were a second dose, an increase of 4,561.

In the North East and Yorkshire, over the same period, there have been 2,231,603 first and 85,548 second doses, making 2,317,151 in total.

A BREAKDOWN of new confirmed cases in the North-East and North Yorkshire is as follows:

County Durham: 35,184 was 35,080;

Darlington: 6,720 was 6,687;

Gateshead: 12,907 was 12,862;

Hartlepool: 8,158 was 8,133;

Middlesbrough: 11,492 was 11,437;

Newcastle: 22,001 was 21,950;

North Tyneside: 11,353 was 11,304;

North Yorkshire: 27,535 was 27,458;

Redcar and Cleveland: 8,690 was 8,661;

South Tyneside: 10,590 was 10,560;

Stockton: 14,376 was 14,314;

Sunderland: 20,454 was 20,387;

York: 11,660 was 11,641.

Total increase of 548 cases.