India’s death toll due to Covid has now surpassed 200,000 and it has seen more cases in the past seven days than any other country in the world. People have died waiting for beds, oxygen supplies are running low and hospitals are under immense strain from new patients. Crematoriums in the capital Delhi have been forced to build makeshift funeral pyres, as the city runs out of space to cremate its dead. Parks and other empty spaces are also being used for cremations. Only 1.6% of the population is fully vaccinated so far but from today all adults over the age of 18 can sign up for Covid vaccines.
The ferocious second wave comes as cases had dropped to below 20,000 a day in January and fell further in February, even dipping below 10,000 at one point. But they began to climb again in March as people started going out more, wearing masks less and stopped following Covid protocols altogether. Scenes of people in India begging for oxygen have shocked and moved the world. Indians in the UK are among those sending their prayers and some are fundraising for oxygen equipment. We have a special day of coverage today including a story about a man whose wife and unborn child died on the same day.You can follow our coverage here.

Just one dose of a coronavirus vaccine can reduce household transmission of the virus by up to half, a study shows. It’s "encouraging", says Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, which carried out the research, as households are high-risk settings for transmission. This means the study is giving early evidence on the impact of vaccines in preventing onward transmission. It found people given a first dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca jabs - and who became infected three weeks later - were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus on than unvaccinated people. Dr Ramsay says “vaccines are vital in helping us return to a normal way of life” but people must "practise good hand hygiene and follow social distancing guidance". The results are particularly encouraging but there is a cause for concern about whether newer variants of the virus, which might be more resistant to vaccines, might cause a new surge in infections, says our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be at Prime Minister’s Questions later for the first time since his former aide Dominic Cummings accused him of planning for donors to "secretly pay" for renovations to his Downing Street flat. Labour accused him of lying over who paid for the works and have demanded a detailed explanation. While No 10 has refused to say whether Mr Johnson initially received a loan to cover the costs, he has told reporters any relevant donations would be declared "in due course". Mr Johnson is also likely to be asked about accusations he said he would rather see "bodies pile high" than approve a third lockdown. He has described the reports as "total rubbish".

Questions about the flat continue
to lead several front pages this morning. "Cash for curtains" headlines the Daily Mirror as it reports Boris Johnson is "mired in scandal". The Daily Mail says there are "yet more searching questions" and reports the prime minister shouted "I can't afford it!" to aides when discussing the soaring cost of renovating his Downing Street flat. He is being "urged to come clean about cash for No 10 revamp" by senior Tories, according to the Guardian.
Some papers have alternative stories relating to Mr Johnson. The i leads on the prime minister being accused of causing "untold hurt" to bereaved families. And the Daily Express says he announced a "fightback" to cabinet colleagues amid days of scandal and leaks. You can read the front pages here.

Elections will be held across England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday 6 May, with seats in the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd and on English councils up for grabs. Voters will also be electing mayors, London Assembly members and police and crime commissioners. Plus, there's the Hartlepool by-election. Check out our guides for details:

We’ve all heard of mobile hairdressers but how about a hairdresser who’s mobile because she travels in a boat? Joanna Embley pampers people on her narrowboat as she makes her way along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Now, looking good but feeling comfortable in what you’re wearing can be tough - particularly when it comes to footwear - so you might be pleased to know Crocs have been making a comeback. Love them or loathe them they’re selling better than ever and a pair of gold-painted ones even made an appearance at the Oscars.
And finally, as we’re talking about appearances, the Queen held her first engagement after her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, died earlier this month. She was pictured online holding audiences with ambassadors from Latvia and Ivory Coast who were at Buckingham Palace.

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