If you're just joining us, here's what we learned from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's press conference following the six cases of Omicron identified in Scotland:

• Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford have written to Boris Johnson calling for stricter travel rules
• The politicians have called for an additional day eight test for all UK arrivals on top of the current test on day two
• They say an emergency Cobra meeting must be held to promote a 'four nations' approach to the Omicron variant
• There is some early evidence of community transmission of Omicron, with some of the cases having no travel history or links to anyone who does
• But there is no evidence this transmission is sustained or widespread
• Additional testing will be carried out in Scotland to identify more cases
• Sturgeon describes the variant as the "most challenging development" in the pandemic for some time
• However, she adds that people should not change their Christmas plans

If you'd like to read the full proposals from Wales and Scotland, the BBC's Economics editor Faisal Islam has obtained a copy of the letter here:

Mark Lowen
Southern Europe correspondent for BBC News

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Portugal, it seems, has paid a high price for its love of football.

The country has detected 13 cases of the new Omicron variant among players and staff of Lisbon-based Belenenses SAD football club.

The variant is believed to have spread during a match over the weekend, which went ahead despite the team already being hit with Covid-19.

Only nine Belenenses players began Saturday’s match against Benfica, with others isolating after a defender, Cafu Phete, tested positive after returning from South Africa.

When just seven Belenenses players began the second half, the match was abandoned. Benfica were leading 7-0.

Questions are now being asked as to why the game went ahead with the knowledge of the health risk it posed.

The presidents of both clubs have said they had to play, or risk being punished for “unjustified absence.” Portugal’s health authority said it did not have the responsibility to cancel a sports match.

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As we have been reporting, Australia has paused its plans to reopen its borders in light of the new Omicron variant.

In a statement, its National Security Committee said: “The temporary pause will ensure Australia can gather the information we need to better understand the Omicron variant, including the efficacy of the vaccine, the range of illness, including if it may generate more mild symptoms, and the level of transmission.”

Only fully vaccinated Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, as well as fully vaccinated travellers from New Zealand and Singapore are currently allowed into Australia.

Read our story here

Turning away from the UK, here are some of the Covid-19 stories making headlines across Europe on Monday:

• France’s health ministry says it has detected eight possible cases of the Omicron variant. The ministry said all the cases had travelled to southern Africa during the past two weeks. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested he has received a vaccine booster shot in a tweet, external
• In the Netherlands, police say they have detained a couple who escaped from a Covid-quarantine hotel. The arrests were made on a plane in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport just before it departed to Spain on Sunday. The drama came after 61 people who arrived on two flights at Schiphol Airport had tested positive, 13 of them with the new Omicron variant
• On Sunday, voters in Switzerland backed the government's measures to tackle Covid in a referendum. Results showed more than 60% opposed moves to remove some restrictions, including the Covid vaccination pass
• In Germany, the seven-day incidence of new infections has risen to a new record of 452.4 per 100,000 people. Germany’s top virologist Christian Drosten says he is “quite concerned” by the Omicron variant - which could be the “first real immune escape variant”

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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for a full meeting of the UK government's emergency Cobra committee, after being asked by LBC about how the UK should handle this new variant.

She says the concerns that she and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford have shared with Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a letter need further discussion - citing information sharing and communication with health experts from all four UK nations.

She says a meeting in the "early part of this week" would be appropriate.

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James Matthews from Sky asks if people's Christmas plans should be put on hold.

Sturgeon replies there is no need to do that at the moment and the advice is protection, not restriction. That includes measures like wearing face masks and washing hands.

She also advises people to be mindful of distance from others when out and about, and to test regularly.

Nicola Sturgeon says she and Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford have written to Boris Johnson today calling for a tougher approach to travel restrictions.

It would see anyone arriving in the UK asked to isolate for eight days - taking tests on day two and day eight.

She says this would help identify cases of the Omicron variant and prevent further community transmission.

This view would be "sensible" and "on a precautionary basis", says Sturgeon.

Sturgeon and Drakeford want all four UK nations to work together on travel.

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Nicola Sturgeon says additional testing by the Scottish government will be initially focused on close contacts, but will be expanded into networks of people after the contact tracing process.

The first minister explains decisions will be made by local health boards depending on the circumstances of each case.

Scotland's chief medical officer Gregor Smith says the PCR testing process will allow experts to more quickly identify possible Omicron samples to prioritise for genetic testing - as the variant appears differently on PCR tests.

Asked by the BBC's Katie Hunter if any of the new Omicron cases are related to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow from earlier this month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says it is unlikely to be related.

The SNP leader says they cannot be 100% sure the summit is not related and contact tracing is ongoing.

She says: "If you consider the timelines of COP it is not impossible, but it is perhaps not probable that there are connections."

Sturgeon also says that this is "the most challenging development in the course of the pandemic" for some time.

She says early indications from South Africa suggest it may be more transmissible than the Delta variant.

She adds the World Health Organization says preliminary evidence shows there may be evidence Omnicron may have an increased risk of reinfection.

The First Minister says there is currently no information that the symptoms are any different or that the disease caused by the variant is more severe.

Sturgeon is calling for a four-nations approach to Omicron. She's already spoken to Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford - they are calling for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to convene a Cobra meeting on the issue.

She says it is important to prepare for the worst but they are "still hoping for the best" and hoping that developing understanding of Omicron will reduce, not increase, concern.

She hopes further measures will not be necessary but that acting on a precautionary basis is best at this time.

The days and weeks ahead will tell us "much more" about the nature of this variant, but what we do know confirms we should treat it seriously, she says.

Vaccination remains the most important line of defence, she adds.

She adds that "now is the time" for everyone to start sticking to coronavirus restrictions "rigorously".

Sturgeon says surveillance was stepped up in recent days leading to the six cases being found.

Contact tracing is still ongoing but it is already known that not all of them have recently travelled to South Africa or neighbouring countries, or have had close contact with those who have travelled - meaning there "might be some community in transmission in Scotland".

But she says there is "no evidence this is sustained or widespread".

She stresses the importance of complying with Covid rules. It is a "fast-moving situation" and Scotland's response will be kept "under close review".

Nicola Sturgeon says the overall situation in Scotland remains stable with cases declining slightly in recent days.

There is now the added situation with Omicron cases being identified, she says.

She says she is going to set out what is known about the variant so far and the cases identified in Scotland - but she expects that to be a "developing situation" in the days ahead.

Will a lateral flow test pick up the Omicron variant?published at 10:27 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2021

10:27 GMT 29 November 2021

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Prof Linda Bould from the University of Edinburgh is asked about if a domestic lateral flow test (LFT) will detect the Omicron variant.

She says that LFTs pick up a protein from the virus to detect its presence, rather than its genetic makeup, and cannot detect a specific variant but she says early signs show that the rapid tests do return positive results for people Omicron as they would for other strains of Covid.

Prof Bould also emphasises the Delta variant is "by far" the dominant type of coronavirus circulating in the UK, which LFTs work well for, meaning they are still extremely useful.

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As we've been hearing, six cases of the Omicron variant of Covid have been found in Scotland - four in the Lanarkshire area and two in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

We've now learned there's going to be a briefing shortly on this.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be leading the briefing at 10.30 GMT, alongside Scotland's chief medical officer Gregor Smith.

We'll bring you information on that when we have it.

One top South African infectious disease epidemiologist has been speaking about Omicron and what we can expect from it based on what we know so far.

Existing Covid-19 vaccines are probably effective at preventing severe disease from the newly identified variant, Prof Salim Abdool Karim said, adding that it was too early to say whether Omicron leads to more severe clinical symptoms than previous variants.

As of Sunday, 11 countries had already reported cases of Omicron, but closing borders had almost no benefit, he added at an online health ministry press briefing.

The variant is likely to fuel a surge in South Africa's coronavirus cases this week that could see infections treble: "I am expecting we will top over 10,000 cases by the end of the week per day," he said.

What are the symptoms of Omicron?published at 10:11 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2021

10:11 GMT 29 November 2021

Asked about if we know anything about the specific symptoms people with the Omicron variant experience, Prof Adam Finn says unfortunately it is too early to say definitively.

He says early indications from South Africa suggest the cases there are "not particularly serious" and with no loss of smell and taste, but people are experiencing a lot of fatigue and a high heart rate.

"But these are very anectdotal reports and we've got no systematic evidence yet," he says.

There is no information about whether people with Omicron are getting seriously ill and hospitalised at a higher rate than other variants of Covid, especially if they are vaccinated or not, he adds.

What is the advantage of reducing time between vaccines?published at 09:58 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2021

09:58 GMT 29 November 2021

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BBC Radio Four's Today programme has been speaking to two experts about the implications of the new Omicron variant and possible changes to booster vaccines.

Prof Adam Finn, a paediatric expert at the University of Bristol and Bristol Children's hospital, and Prof Linda Bould, a public health expert from the University of Edinburgh, have been answering listener questions.

Prof Finn is also a member of the UK's vaccine advisory body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), who are expected to make an announcement today on whether to extend the Covid booster vaccine programme to more people.

Asked about the advantages about dropping the time interval between the second and third dose from six months to five, Prof Finn explains scientists are worried the antibodies coming from existing vaccines might not be as efficient, so the best option is to increase people's antibody levels through booster jabs.

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Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, has been speaking about the issue of schoolchildren wearing masks this morning.

Speaking on the Today programme on Radio 4, she says that the last thing anyone - especially teachers - wants is more disruption in schools caused by coronavirus.

It makes education "very difficult" to have some pupils in school while others are at home, because they are ill or isolating, Bousted adds.

But she says she was "disappointed" mask-wearing was not being reintroduced in classrooms in England - and was instead just limited to communal areas.

Teachers on social media had pointed out Covid doesn't recognise the difference between the corridor and the classroom, adds Bousted.

Mask-wearing is the second-best way to prevent the virus, other than good ventilation, she says, pointing out that schools need proper ventilation units as it is not easy to throw windows open in cold weather.

Some news in from Australia, where a long-awaited plan to ease border restrictions has been put on ice because of the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Travel into Australia for international students and "skilled workers" holding visas was meant to re-start on Wednesday but has now been delayed until 15 December.

The pause will allow the government to learn more about the new variant and the threat it poses, Australia's national broadcaster ABC reports.

Australia’s National Security Committee of cabinet made the decision, following medical advice from the chief medical officer.

It was hoped the planned opening up would tackle a skills shortage and get the economy moving.

Some 200,000 people who held eligible visas are believed to be affected.

Entry into Australia is currently permitted for citizens and others with exemptions, but there are tight caps on arrival numbers.

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