Covid-19: Government urged to keep £20 benefit increase, and heart patient numbers drop

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday morning. We'll have another update for you this evening.

The government's former homelessness adviser has urged it to extend benefit increases, worth £20 a week, beyond the end of March. Dame Louise Casey said ending the universal credit top-up, introduced during the Covid pandemic, would be "too punitive". Boris Johnson has previously said all measures would be kept under "constant review". Watch Dame Louise's comments below.

There has been a sharp drop in the number of patients admitted to hospitals in England with heart attacks or heart failure in recent months, research reveals. Experts are worried that people who need urgent medical help are not seeking it. This was also the case during the first wave of the pandemic.

The UK's inflation rate surged to 0.6% in December from 0.3% in November - despite curbs that forced non-essential shops to shut. Clothing and transport costs - including petrol prices and coach fares - were the main factors behind the rise, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Those rises were partly offset by a fall in food prices.

"We're all physically, mentally and emotionally drained now," says Fiona Bauld, an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at University Hospital Monklands in Lanarkshire. Our correspondent James Cook has visited the hospital to speak to staff and patients - click here for the full piece, or watch one of the interviews below.

Meanwhile, our correspondent Clive Myrie has been to a hospital in London to see the impact there of the surge in Covid patients. The first video of the series was published on Tuesday - and here is the second part.

Get a longer daily news briefing from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning, by signing up here.

You can find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

There are various lockdown rules in place. Here's a reminder of what they are - and when they might end.

What questions do you have about coronavirus?

In some cases, your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy.

Use this form to ask your question:

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in.