Lockdown restrictions are relaxed in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales as the number of cases continues to reduce, with non-essential shops, pubs, gyms, restaurants, hairdressers, community centres, libraries, and theme parks permitted to reopen. Domestic holidays are also permitted again in England with members of the same household. A "stay at home" order is ended in Northern Ireland, and secondary school pupils from years 8–11 return to school. (BBC News)
Schools, libraries, zoos, and some stores in the Czech Republic reopen after months of closure as the six-month state of emergency expires and restrictions of movement are lifted. (Reuters)
High schools in Greece reopen after five months of closure, with precautions such as wearing masks and COVID-19 testing for all teachers and students twice per week. (France 24)
India reports a record for the seventh consecutive day of 168,912 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 13.52 million and surpassing Brazil to become the country with the second-highest total of infections. (Hindustan Times)(The Hill)
Bangladesh issues new lockdown rules that order the closure of all government, semi-government, autonomous, and private offices for one week beginning April 14, as well as suspension of all public transport. However, the government will allow factories to remain open. (Bdnews24.com)
Hong Kong announces that restaurants will be permitted to remain open until midnight and seat more customers, provided that all staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 and all patrons use a government tracking app. (The Hong Kong Standard)
Thailand reports a record for the second consecutive day of 985 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of cases to 33,610. (AP)
Ontario PremierDoug Ford announces that all schools across the province will remain closed after April break and students will be forced to shift into online learning amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (CP24)
The U.S. government terminates a deal with Eli Lilly and Company for 350,856 remaining doses of the single antibody bamlanivimab that were scheduled to be delivered by the end of March. The deal will instead be focused on a supply of combined antibodies with etesevimab. (Bloomberg)
China reports new cases of highly pathogenic H5N6avian flu in wild birds in Liaoning, which is the country's first report of the disease since February 2020. (Reuters)
Ukraine triggers Article 15 of the Charter on a Special Partnership, initiating an emergency meeting with NATO to discuss the Russian escalation in Donbass and the build-up of Russian forces on its border. The article was last triggered in 2018 during the Kerch Strait incident. (Ukranews)
Tensions between protesters and police intensified for the second night after the killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old man who was shot by police at a traffic stop. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz imposes a curfew, and police begin firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades. Some protesters, wearing gas masks, pick up smoke canisters and throw them back at police. About 40 arrests are made, ranging from curfew violation to rioting. (USA Today)
A serving officer with London's Metropolitan Police is sentenced to over two years in prison for an unprovoked attack on a black member of the public that left his victim with a broken leg, in what the judge described as "a clear case of racial profiling." (CNN)