Image source, DUNCAN BINNIE

Some travellers returning to the UK for Christmas have changed their plans due to the new testing rules that came into force today.

Duncan Binnie, a Briton living in Paris, has decided to return to the UK earlier to make sure he can see his children over the festive period.

"I was due to come home later in the month but I'm moving all my travel forward," he tells us.

Binnie hasn't seen his two children in more than two years. "The last time I saw my daughter was for her 18th birthday and now she's 20 years old," he says.

To protect himself ahead of his trip he's taking precautions: "I've not been to the office in over a week and stayed off transport."

Still, he remains worried about getting stuck in the UK if tougher rules are introduced in France to combat the Omicron variant.

"But I need to see my children, and I don't mind having to pay extra to do that."

Read more stories from affected travellers here.

From today, travellers to the UK need to take a Covid test before they leave for the country - as well as one after they arrive.

This means extra costs for holidaymakers like Paula Widdowson, from York, who is in Rome.

She and her husband had to find a test provider in Italy at short notice - and ended up paying £60 for a PCR test from a hospital.

The couple have spent nearly £400 on tests in total, which she says is "significantly more than the cost of the flights".

They are also concerned that if they test positive in Italy, they could be quarantined for up to 21 days.

Image source, PA Media

The schools inspectorate Ofsted says nearly all children in England have suffered as a result of the pandemic, with the long-term consequences for them unknown.

In its annual report, the watchdog says most children have fallen behind in their education but adds that good, well-structured, face-to-face lessons will help the majority to catch up.

Chief inspector Amanda Spielman warns that many of the youngest children's progress and development "faltered" amid the pandemic, with some regressing in basic language and social skills.

She adds the message around the "harm" that lockdowns cause children - and the importance of in-person schooling - "needs repeating now".

Read more

Deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK fell below 1,000 in the week ending 26 November for the first time in five weeks, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Case numbers in the UK were falling towards the end of October and it takes a couple of weeks before this trend starts to be reflected in the number of deaths recorded.

In the latest week, there were a total of 13,150 deaths registered in the UK, which was 11% above the five-year average. This was down from 16% the previous week.

A total of 979 deaths involved Covid-19 in the latest week, 111 fewer than last week. This is the second consecutive week the number of Covid deaths has fallen.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Giving people different types of Covid vaccine could help immunise people in the poorest countries, say Oxford researchers.

The team were investigating the immune response when people’s second dose was different to their first.

The study, published in the Lancet, compared two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer with people having an initial dose with those vaccines and a second of either Moderna or Novavax.

The mix-and-match approach led to a robust immune response when antibodies and T-cells were analysed.

The researchers said the work could help countries with low immunisation rates and a limited supply of vaccines as they could be more flexible in which doses they used.

Prof Matthew Snape, one of the researchers at Oxford, said: “It’s worth remembering only 6% of the population in low income areas have had their primary vaccination.

“What we’re seeing is are there many combinations you would want to use.”

He said following AstraZeneca with Novavax looked particularly intriguing as these vaccines were the easiest to store and gave a better overall immune response than two doses of AstraZeneca.

Image source, Getty Images

As testing requirements for travellers to the UK increase, there are concerns some providers are advertising misleading prices to feature at the top of the list on the government's website.

Some firms advertising tests for as low as £1 have been struck off the website.

But this morning there were still companies advertising tests for £15, which were not actually available when customers click through to the company website, or are only available in person at limited locations.

Avi Lasarow, from testing company Prenetics, tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme "clearly the government have had difficulty monitoring the website on a daily basis" and it would be easier for customers if companies were listed by Trustpilot review rating.

He says to analyse a test in their laboratory costs less than £20 but responsible companies also need to run 24/7 shifts, including over weekends and bank holidays, as well as a call centre which "comes at a cost".

As we've mentioned, the return of the red list has also meant the return of quarantine hotels - and some guests have been complaining about poor conditions, despite some rooms costing more than £2,000 for a 10-day stay.

John Louie tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that organisation was "pretty woeful" and when he arrived at his hotel the TV and shower head in his room were broken.

Francesca Desquesnes says the cauliflower soup she was given for lunch was "cold and inedible".

“I would liken it to prison, the way we’re being treated," she says.

Surinder Arora, founder and chairman of the Arora Hotel Group, which does not manage either of the hotels they stayed at, says businesses were required to restart quarantine services at very short notice.

"Within three days of getting a call we had our first guest in our hotel," he says.

He adds that hotels are not making a huge profit from quarantine guests, adding that the cost paid also covers tests, transport, security and food.

Back now to the changes in the UK's travel rules, which have been tightened in response to the new Omicron variant.

Eleven African countries are now on the UK's travel red list to help slow the spread of the variant.

It means only UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents, are allowed to enter from these countries - and they have to pay to self-isolate in a government approved hotel for 10 days.

Emily Mennie and Owen Hancock, who have just returned from visiting family in South Africa, are currently quarantining in a hotel in east London.

Owen tells BBC Breakfast that when they found out South Africa was being moved to the red list there was "a lot of stress" and "real panic" as the couple tried to work out if they could find a flight in the next 24 hours before the rules came into force.

However, they weren't able to so had to spend more than £3,700 on a quarantine hotel.

“It’s just going on credit cards for us at the moment and we’ll have to work out a plan to pay that back at the beginning of next year," Owen says.

The couple have already had to postpone their wedding - planned for South Africa - twice due to travel restrictions, and are now hoping to marry next year.

Image source, Getty Images

A week ago, the UK government promised to put the booster rollout "on steroids", increasing eligibility and ramping up the number of jabs given.

Governments in England, Scotland and Wales have pledged to offer all adults a booster by the end of January.

However, the NHS website for England says, external boosters are currently only available to people aged 40 and over, those with underlying health conditions and frontline health and social care workers, five months after their second dose.

We've previously reported that NHS England said in a letter sent to health leaders the booking service for booster jabs would be updated to reflect the reduction of the time between doses to three months "as soon as possible and no later than 13 December".

Meanwhile, the number of booster jabs being administered remains relatively flat.

Some 464,616 boosters were given on Saturday - the highest figure recorded in the last week. That compares to 465,111 the previous Saturday.

You can read more about the booster rollout here.

All adults in Wales will be offered a booster vaccination by the end of January to help slow the spread of Omicron, the health minister has said.

More vaccination centres will open, with walk-in and drive-through options, and longer opening hours.

Additional help has been requested from the military to allow some parts of Wales to double the number of vaccinations provided.

Eligibility for a booster dose has also been brought forward from six months after the second dose to three.

It brings Wales in to line with England and Scotland, who have already pledged to offer all adults boosters by the end of January.

Read more.

Image source, Reuters

The government does not believe "Plan B" measures are required in England to tackle the spread of Omicron, the deputy prime minister says.

Ministers have already brought in additional testing requirements for travel and mandatory masks in shops and on public transport in the face of the new variant - but Plan B also includes advice to work from home and compulsory Covid passports.

Dominic Raab tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme Plan B is not required because of the success of the vaccination programme.

He adds that the government is taking a "targeted and proportionate approach".

Image source, Reuters

It is too soon to assume Omicron is milder than Delta, the variant currently dominant in the UK, a scientist says.

Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the Covid-19 genomics initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, says he believes Omicron is now spreading faster than Delta and will take over as the UK's dominant variant "within a matter of weeks".

Some experts have suggested Omicron may be less likely to cause serious disease than previous variants - but Dr Barret tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme it is too early to make this assumption.

He adds that even if only a small proportion of people get seriously ill with Omicron, "a small faction of a really big number can still cause problems".

You can read more on what we know about Omicron so far here.

Marianne Baisnee
Europe Producer

Image source, Getty Images

As we've reported, France has announced that nightclubs in the country will be closed for the next four weeks.

During a press conference, PM Jean Castex said they would shut from from Friday in order to fight what he described as a fifth Covid-19 wave.

French health minister Olivier Véran announced that with an incidence rate of 400 per 100,000 cases, rates were already higher than in the peak of the third wave. The infection wave is stronger where the vaccine coverage is weaker, the health minister added.

In primary schools, children will have to wear a mask in the schoolyard as well as the classroom - as was already the case.

And French people aged over 65 will be able to get a booster dose of the Covid vaccine without an appointment. For now, no curfew or lockdown measures will be taken, the French PM said.

Image source, ANNETTE MITCHELL

For travellers, new testing rules mean extra costs, confusion and inconvenience.

Annette Mitchell tells the BBC she has booked a holiday to New York with her two teenage children in January.

She has already booked Covid tests ahead of departure to the US at a cost of £105, as well as £205 for tests after they return.

"Already the trip is expensive without added costs," she says. "Now we are being told to test before we return to the UK. The only tests in the US are a cost of $200 each - that's what it says on the Virgin Atlantic website."

Mrs Mitchell says adding the extra cost of $600 (£453) is "another holiday" and the "stressful" situation means she is not sure if they can now afford to go - something upsetting for the entire family.

You can read more concerns from travellers here.

Official figures are probably an underestimate of the number of Omicron cases in the UK, a scientist has said.

Prof Tim Spector, who runs the Zoe Covid Symptom study, says although there are currently only 336 confirmed Omicron cases in the UK, the true number is probably at least 1,000 to 2,000.

He tells BBC Breakfast the new variant can only be picked up by 30-40% of PCR tests done around the country and symptoms from Omicron appear at the moment to be more similar to a cold, rather than the classic Covid symptoms of a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss of sense of taste or smell.

This means many cases may be missed as some people won't get tested, he adds.

Prof Spector says Omicron cases are expected to double around every two days so travel restrictions will become less effective.

“These travel restrictions do perhaps have their place initially when cases are really low here and really high in other countries, but when we reach that equilibrium there’s really very little point in having them in my opinion," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

As well as the new rules on pre-departure testing, there are a number of other requirements travellers must comply with:

• A PCR test must be taken within two days of arrival to the UK and people must self-isolate until they have a negative result, regardless of vaccination status
• Over-18s who are not fully vaccinated must self-isolate at home for 10 days after arriving in the UK
• Eleven African countries are also on the red list, which means only UK or Irish nationals, or UK residents, are allowed to enter the UK from these countries
• These travellers must self-isolate in a government-approved hotel for 10 days

You can read more about the UK's travel rules here.

Travel restrictions can only buy timepublished at 07:08 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December 2021

07:08 GMT 7 December 2021

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Travel restrictions - which slow the influx of new cases - make the biggest difference when there is little Omicron in the country.

Yet scientists have warned Omicron could overtake Delta to become the dominant variant within the next few weeks as it is already spreading here.

The shorter gap between catching the virus and passing it on was used as the justification for pre-departure testing.

But that difference in infectiousness will also accelerate the spread of Omicron that is already here.

All the restrictions can do is buy time to understand what Omicron is capable of.

It could still take weeks to understand how severe the variant is and what it means for the effectiveness of vaccines.

Image source, Getty Images

New rules for people travelling to the UK have come into force to limit the spread of the new Omicron variant.

From today, all travellers aged 12 and over will have to show proof of a negative PCR or lateral flow test - even if they are fully vaccinated - taken no more than two days before departing for the UK.

There are currently 336 confirmed cases of the highly-mutated Covid strain in the UK. Scientists fear it could be more transmissible or vaccines could be less effective against it, but it will take weeks to understand this.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed Omicron is spreading in the community in multiple areas of England, where cases have no link to international travel.

Read the full story here.

Image source, PA Media

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the main stories in the UK and around the world this morning:

• People travelling to the UK must now take a Covid test before their journey, as new rules to limit the spread of the Omicron variant take effect
• Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed Omicron is spreading in the community in multiple areas of England, with 336 confirmed cases
• Nightclubs in France must close on Friday for four weeks, amid a rise in cases
• All New Yorkers must be vaccinated against Covid by 27 December if they want to go to work, the city’s mayor has announced
• From 14 December, children aged between 5 and 11 in New York must show proof they have had one dose of a vaccine to enter venues including restaurants, while those over 12 must have had two doses. Previously under-12s were exempt and other customers only needed proof of one dose