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The EU's roll-out of the Covid vaccine for five to 11-year-olds will begin on 13 December - a week earlier than originally planned, German Health Minister Jens Spahn has announced.

He describes it as good news for parents and children, saying many are awaiting the vaccine eagerly.

Germany’s incoming new government has also pledged to speed up the rollout of the third dose, and this week is expected to announce new national restrictions.

Some German regions with particularly high infection rates are already closing down bars and clubs, and banning fans from football stadiums.

In some places there are also tougher restrictions, such as curfews, for unvaccinated people.

Conservative MP Gareth Davies tells the House this weekend is Small Business Saturday.

He says: "This government has provided unprecedented support throughout this pandemic, can the prime minister assure me that his commitment to our high streets will continue long into the future?"

Boris Johnson says there was a festival to celebrate Small Business Saturday at Downing Street last night.

"I encourage everybody to get out this Saturday - safely with your masks on in shops - but that should be no inhibition on people buying in shops up and down this country."

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Tory MP David Davis asks about Paxlovid - a coronavirus treatment trialled by vaccine manufacturer Pfizer. It was found to cut the risk of death in those infected by about 90% or better, Davis says.

He says the UK's vaccine strategy is an "enormous success" but leads to a "never ending biological arms race against a mutating virus".

He says Paxlovid could avoid the need for future emergency restrictions around the world and asks what the government is doing to secure supplies and in the long term for factories to be built here to produce it in Britain.

Boris Johnson says the licencing of the drug in the UK depends on approval from the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) but the government has "already invested in hundreds of thousands of courses of that drug".

Here's everything we know about Paxlovid so far.

The Republic of Ireland has recorded its first case of the Omicron variant.

The National Public Health Emergency Team says the case is linked to travel from a country in southern Africa.

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We're still on Christmas parties in PMQs, and the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford claims the PM "blatantly" broke the rules when having a festive party in Downing Street last year.

He asks how people are supposed to trust the prime minister.

Boris Johnson replies that Blackford is talking "total nonsense".

Blackford follows up by referencing leaked advice from scientists advising the government, which says the government's policy of asking travellers to take a test two days after they arrive would "identify significantly fewer cases" than extra tests on days five or eight.

Blackford asks if the PM will convene a four nations Cobra meeting to tighten travel restrictions.

Johnson doesn't directly answer the question, but says Blackford is "simply wrong" about the the steps the government took to prevent Omicron spreading from abroad.

"This country was actually the first to respond," he says.

Christmas parties have been a hot topic in Prime Minister's Questions so far.

If you're catching up, here's the heath secretary on this year's Christmas parties earlier today - they don't need to be cancelled but people should be "a bit cautious", he says.

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Still on the topic of parties last December, Sir Keir Starmer reads the rule in place at the time: "You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party."

"The PM doesn't deny there was a Downing Street Christmas party last year but he says all rules were followed - those two things can't be true," he says.

"He's taking the British public for fools."

Starmer points out some Conservative MPs are not wearing masks: "As ever one rule for them, one rule for everybody else."

The PM says Starmer "plays politics and asks frivolous questions".

Using his nickname for the leader of the opposition, which will have become a familiar one for regular followers of PMQs, Boris Johnson adds: "If we listened to Captain Hindsight we'd all still be in lockdown and that is the truth."

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The first coronavirus question to Boris Johnson in Prime Minister's Questions comes from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

He asks: "As millions of people were locked down last year was a Christmas party thrown for dozens of people in Downing Street on 18 December?"

The PM says: "All guidance was followed completely in No 10."

He says Labour's own Christmas party is scheduled for 15 December and suggests Starmer has failed to invite his deputy leader.

We will be bringing you all the latest on coronavirus and the new Omicron variant from Prime Minister's Questions at midday.

Meanwhile, our politics team will be covering everything else that comes up - you can follow their blow-by-blow accounts of all the questions from MPs and answers from the PM here.

But for everything the PM has to say about the pandemic you're in the right place.

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Japanese airlines have halted new reservations and the government has widened a travel ban amid increasing concerns over the Omicron strain.

Two cases of the variant have been detected in the country.

Japan Airlines Co and ANA Holdings Inc said they were suspending new reservations for international flights to Japan until the end of the year.

It comes at the request of the transport ministry, which has also requested foreign airlines to halt such reservations.

Japan closed its borders to new foreign entrants for about a month on Monday because of the new variant.

The Scottish Government has confirmed it will follow England in aiming to offer all over-18s a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of January.

It will also follow the UK-wide Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on reducing the time between the second and third doses to three months.

A total of nine cases of Omicron have been discovered in Scotland - all linked to a single, private event on 20 November - although First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned of the possibility of "many more" people being infected.

A Scottish Government spokesman says: "Scotland already has the highest vaccination rate of all UK nations for first, second and third doses. The winter vaccination programme has already delivered more than 1.6 million booster doses to the most vulnerable groups.

"We are aiming to offer the booster vaccine to everyone aged 18 or older who is eligible by the end of January, in line with the JCVI's advice, and we will confirm our approach to deployment very soon."

Ellen Clowser
Consultant statistician, BBC News

Weekly death registrations involving Covid-19 in the UK have remained above 1,000, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.

In the week ending 19 November, there were 13,743 deaths registered in total in the UK, which was 16% above the five-year average.

A total of 1,088 involved Covid-19, 110 fewer than last week.

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New travel restrictions have come into effect in Portugal as part of an attempt to combat infections from the new Covid variant, Omicron.

Proof of a negative Covid test is now required for anyone over the age of 12 arriving at the country's airports, whether or not they have been vaccinated.

Masks will once again be mandatory in indoor spaces, and proof of vaccination, recovery from a previous infection or a negative test are needed for entry to hotels, restaurants, gyms and most public events.

Portugal has already reported more than a dozen cases of the new Omicron variant but still has a lower Covid infection rate than much of Europe.

Spain is also now requiring passengers aged over 12 to show proof of double-vaccination on arrival.

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On the subject of Christmas parties, some NHS trusts are asking staff "not to mix in big groups" as we approach the festive period, according to Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers.

She told Sky News this year was "very different" to last year when "it was absolutely clear that nobody was going to a Christmas party".

"This year," she added, "we are in in a slightly different place - people will be taking their own decisions".

"We know that many NHS trusts, for example, are asking their staff not to mix in big groups in the run-up to Christmas because of the potential threat to their health and what they will be available to do."

Getting booster jabs, wearing masks, washing your hands and ventilating rooms are important things to do to stop transmission, she said.

Returning to those newspaper reports that Downing Street broke Covid rules with two parties in Number 10 in the run-up to last Christmas, the health secretary says all restrictions were followed.

The Daily Mirror said the prime minister gave a speech at a packed leaving do for a senior aide last November when the country was in the midst of the second lockdown.

The newspaper said members of his No 10 team then held their own festive party days before Christmas, while London was under Tier 3 restrictions.

In each case, the paper reported, there were 40 or 50 people crammed "cheek by jowl" into a medium sized room.

Sajid Javid tells the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "Whatever happened in No 10 throughout the pandemic, I am absolutely certain all the rules around the pandemic would have been followed."

Pressed on the Mirror report, he said: "You're assuming that the news report you're referring to is accurate. I'm sure you would have come across inaccurate news reports in the past.

"All I can tell you is whatever happened in No 10, all rules would have been followed at all times."

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Zimbabwe has reimposed a curfew and mandatory quarantines for all travellers amid rising Covid cases and to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.

The government has cited growing public complacency that they believe will only worsen as the festive season approaches.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa reimposed a curfew from 21:00 to 06:00 local time. All businesses will be required to close at 19:00.

All international travellers will be required to be tested on arrival and to quarantine at a state-designated facility, all at their own cost.

The restrictions are a blow to the tourism industry, which had anticipated a normal festive season.

The measures will be reviewed in a fortnight.

Zimbabwe has recorded more than 130,000 Covid cases and about 4,700 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Image source, PA Media

We should know a lot more about Omicron within the next two weeks, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this morning.

So let's take a look at some of the questions scientists are chasing answers to - and the glimpses of what we know so far.

How infectious is it? The World Health Organization says a steep rise in cases in South Africa coincided with the discovery of Omicron. And it has mutations that theoretically help it to spread more quickly - but it's still not clear if it spreads more easily than the dominant Delta variant, which is a key factor in whether it will outpace it.

How well will current vaccines work against it? Omicron has many mutations on its spike protein - the part of the virus current vaccines target. The concern is this virus is now radically different to the original Wuhan strain on which our jabs are modelled. But a UK government scientific adviser Prof Calum Semple says vaccines are "still likely to protect you from severe disease".

Will it lead to more severe disease? Initial data suggests increasing rates of hospitalisation in South Africa - but that could be due to rising cases generally, the WHO says. But it warns all Covid variants can cause severe disease and death, so "prevention is always key". On vaccines, any dent to immunity is most likely to affect the odds of you catching Covid - protection against severe disease and death is more resilient. But it'll take time to know for sure.

All eyes are now on the laboratory scientists and real-world data to paint a fuller picture.

Read more - How worrying is the new Covid variant?

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Covid booster jabs are to be offered to all over-18s in the UK to help stop a potential wave of infections driven by the new variant Omicron.

In England, the government has set a target to offer all adults the chance to book a booster by the end of January.

When you are contacted will depend on your age and whether you are in an at-risk group.

Vulnerable people will be contacted first, then over-40s and older people, then younger age groups.

However, people are being asked not to contact the NHS directly about their booster jab.

And the NHS website, external points out the health service in England is not yet ready to implement the policy.

Scotland and Wales have yet to finalise details of how boosters will be given out. Northern Ireland has announced extra vaccination clinics to meet demand.

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The Swiss government is planning new Covid restrictions, including requiring vaccine certificates for all gatherings of 10 or more people.

Other measures could include mandatory masks in all indoor public spaces, reducing negative test validity to 24 hours, and possible work from home orders for the unvaccinated, the government says following an emergency meeting.

The aim is to get through the winter without lockdowns, but ICU units are filling up, with more than 100 hospitalisations each day over the past week.

The number of new cases has increased by 86,000 since 15 November, with the daily number of infections similar to peak levels during October and November 2020.

Two cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Switzerland.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

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We've been hearing a fair bit about Christmas parties this morning as the health secretary says there is no need to stop festivities but that people should take "sensible" precautions, such as taking a rapid test.

But some companies already have cold feet and have decided not to book anything formal. Others have cancelled plans.

Many people are now vaccinated, but is there a way to reduce risk?

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Shouting and singing can produce 20-times the mass of aerosol, external to spray on to unsuspecting colleagues than speaking at a normal level of loudness.
• People get physically closer to strangers after drinking alcohol, US researchers have shown, external. This might help Covid spread between previously unconnected social groups
• Drinking outside the pub - in your big coat rather than beer jacket at this time of year in the UK - is much less risky than socialising at the bar