As we mentioned earlier, a virtual Cabinet meeting is due to happen later, with ministers set to discuss how to stem the spread of the Omicron variant.

Asked whether a lockdown is being considered for over Christmas, the prime minister's official spokesman says the government is "keeping a very close eye" on the data - including the impact of boosters, Plan B rules and the characteristics of Omicron. The spokesman said there would be an "update" if any further decisions are taken.

Amid calls from scientists for tougher restrictions now to combat Omicron's spread, he insists it is the "job of ministers" to scrutinise evidence provided by officials.

Pressed on whether Boris Johnson is more in favour of guidance rather than restrictions, the spokesman says the government will "take any necessary steps in the interest of protecting lives and livelihoods".

Asked about Health Secretary Sajid Javid's concerns over hugging his mother at Christmas, the spokesman adds that it is for the public to be aware of warnings over the rapid spread of Omicron and "act appropriately based on individual circumstances".

He reminds people planning to socialise indoors to get tested beforehand, ensure good ventilation and good hygiene practices.

Would tougher Covid measures really be worth it?published at 12:56 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2021

12:56 GMT 20 December 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Infections caused by the new Covid variant Omicron are rising rapidly, doubling every two to three days - and modelling is warning hospital admissions could rise sharply.

Ministers across the UK are under pressure to bring in tougher Covid measures.

There are strong arguments for those, but there are also reasons why trying to do more to suppress Omicron could be damaging.

Much has been made of suggestions that this variant is causing milder illness.

In South Africa, reports are emerging that people are not as seriously ill in this wave as they were in earlier ones.

There is still uncertainty about this. But it is logical. Not because the virus has changed to become less severe, but because reinfections and infections post-vaccination are likely to be milder.

If so, that puts the UK in a strong position - probably the strongest in Europe - to be able to deal with this wave.

On top of that there is the impact of the rapid rollout of boosters, which research suggests are vital to blunting the impact of Omicron.

The key, though, will be that the NHS can keep delivering care to those who need it.

You can read Nick's full analysis here.

Image source, Getty Images

Children in England aged 12 to 15 are now eligible to book their second dose of a Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

The NHS online booking service is open to those who have had their first dose more than 12 weeks ago, in line with the latest guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Existing school immunisation services will also be offering the second doses, with consent letters containing information on Covid vaccines sent to parents and guardians beforehand.

More than 75,000 of children in this age group are currently eligible for a second dose. NHS England figures show that more than 30,000 have already had one.

Schools began giving the vaccine to 12-15 year-olds back in September, with more than 1.3 million youngsters having a jab so far.

The acceleration of the vaccination programme comes amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the UK, with a further 82,886 new infections recorded on Sunday.

Image source, PA Media

The Natural History Museum says it will have to shut from Tuesday, external due to "front-of-house shortages" caused by Covid-19 infections and isolation rules.

The museum in South Kensington, in central London, will remain closed for a week in the hope that "staffing levels will have recovered".

In its statement, it says the decision to close was not taken lightly, but the safety of staff and visitors is the priority.

It adds that tickets for Wildlife Photographer of the Year or Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature for these dates will be cancelled and refunded.

As you may have seen us reporting, ministers will be meeting virtually this afternoon at 14:00 to discuss how to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

The BBC understands that officials have drawn up three options for the cabinet for possible coronavirus measures of different levels of severity - low, medium and high.

What we don't know yet is if there will be a No 10 news conference after the cabinet meeting. Nothing has been scheduled as yet but if that changes, we will let you know.

Image source, Reuters

Rafael Nadal says he has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

The player said the result was detected on a PCR test following his return to Spain.

"Both in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi we passed controls every two days and all were negative, the last being on Friday and having the results on Saturday," he said in a tweet.

Nadal lost in straight sets to Britain's Andy Murray on Friday in his first match returning from a foot injury.

Image source, EPA

A fifth wave of Covid-19 infections has begun in Israel due to the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has warned, as his government added the United States, Canada and several more European countries to its travel red list.

"Three weeks ago, I warned the citizens of Israel that a new wave was coming, the Omicron wave. One day later, the Corona Cabinet convened and we decided - the first in the world - to bar foreign nationals from entering Israel,” Bennett said in a televised address, external.

“The time that we bought is running out. The Omicron is already in the country, from the Knesset (parliament) to kindergartens, and it is spreading fast."

Bennett said his goal was to “overcome this wave while continuing economic activity and education as much as we can”, and called on people to maintain social distancing, wear masks, work from home, and vaccinate their children.

Israel has so far recorded 134 confirmed cases of Omicron and 307 suspected cases.

From Tuesday, Israelis will be forbidden from travelling to the US, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey without permission. The UK was added to the red list last week.

Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist at Queen Mary University of London, says it is impossible to predict how high Covid infections will get, but cited modelling that suggested daily positive cases could reach as high two million - a prediction she says is "plausible" given the rapid spread we're seeing.

With limits on testing we're unlikely to get an early indication of how high infections could go until hospital admissions are rising, by which time it would be "far too late to act", she adds.

Dr Gurdasani warns that even if the Omicron variant does turn out to cause less severe illness, the "sheer number" of infections has the potential to overwhelm hospitals.

She urges people to "hunker down" over Christmas and calls on the government to impose further Covid restrictions now.

We ask the Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer for his reaction to the photograph of a gathering with cheese and wine in the garden of No 10 Downing Street during lockdown in May 2020.

He says: "To suggest that is a work meeting is a bit of a stretch by anybody's analysis."

Asked if he attended any similar work meetings during lockdown he says the Labour Party and the vast majority of the public were complying with the rules at that time.

Ministers will be holding a virtual cabinet meeting this afternoon, the BBC understands.

They're due to hold the discussions at 14:00 GMT.

The BBC has been told three different options of possible Covid measures are currently being considered.

Labour is ready to support further restrictions to slow the spread of Omicron if the government deems them necessary, Sir Keir Starmer says.

The Labour leader says the government has been hinting at further restrictions but is more tied up with party matters than public health.

He tells BBC News: "It's for the prime minister to come up with a plan with support for schools and businesses... get on with the job, bring forward that plan... we will support it if it's the right plan in the public interest."

Starmer refuses to be drawn on whether he thinks the current restrictions are enough or what measures he would put in place if he were prime minister.

He says there is a "vacuum of leadership" and "infighting" in the Conservative party which is taking attention away from tackling coronavirus.

The Omicron variant has now been found in dozens of countries and is spreading rapidly, according to the World Health Organization.

The UK is considering three different options of possible Covid measures, as we've been telling you this morning.

Other nations across Europe are bracing for the spread and introducing new curbs to try and slow infections.

• The Netherlands has taken the strictest action, with non-essential businesses shuttered from Sunday under fresh lockdown restrictions
• France and Austria are among nations to tighten travel rules. Germany has banned most arrivals from the UK - with health minister Karl Lauterbach warning of a "massive fifth wave" of the pandemic
• Denmark has shuttered public venues including cinemas and theatres to fight the outbreak while Ireland has introduced curbs on hospitality - with pubs and bars only allowed to stay open until 20:00 under new rules

Image source, EPA

Moderna said on Monday that new tests show its booster jab can increase neutralising antibodies about 37-fold to help defend against Omicron infection.

Stéphane Bancel, the company's CEO, said the results were "reassuring" amid the "dramatic increase" in Covid-19 cases.

Data is still becoming clear, but UK researchers previously projected boosters could provide about 85% protection against severe illness with the new variant.

Bancel said Moderna would continue to develop a vaccine targeted toward Omicron in case it became necessary in the future.

Most people in the UK are offered a booster dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

• EXPLAINED: Why do boosters work if two doses struggle?

Image source, Getty Images

Keeping a close eye on the UK's coronavirus numbers has become a daily tradition for some as the Omicron wave continues to grow.

But with the Christmas period approaching - some people may be looking to cut down their intake or understand better the key metrics to look out for.

Robert Cuffe, the BBC's head of statistics, explains here why the daily data may not give us a clear picture over the Christmas period.

One reason is that daily case numbers depend on who comes forward for testing, and that figure can drop rapidly on holidays like Christmas Day and then surge again when people return to work.

This chart shows how that happened last year:

Image source, Getty Images

Hospitality bosses are calling for "urgent" government help as pubs and restaurants suffer mass cancellations in the run-up to Christmas amid the rapid spread of the Omicron Covid variant.

Nick Mackenzie, the chief executive of pub chain Greene King, says bookings have been "decimated" across the business and that the country was in lockdown "in all but name", due to government's messaging "around reducing social contact".

He called on the government for "urgent" help while David Page, the chairman of Fulham Shore, which runs the Real Greek and Franco Manca restaurant chains, urged the chancellor to announce further aid "in the next 24 hours".

Mr Page said the country was in "lockdown by stealth" due to government advice to stay away from crowded areas, "which may be a very good idea health-wise but it's ruining a lot of small businesses".

The government has not ruled out bringing in more Covid restrictions before Christmas, but has yet to announce further support for businesses struggling.

You can read more here.

An epidemiologist and practising GP says the UK government should trust people to manage their own Covid risk rather than impose further lockdowns.

Professor Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre of Evidence Based Medicine in Oxford, says all ministers see is the worst case scenario when looking at modelling.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, he says the number of people testing positive has gone up by about 50% in a week rather than doubling every day.

The number of patients that were admitted to hospital, he adds, "hardly changed over a week" – up 8% - and yesterday deaths went down.

“If you focus on the information that matters you come up with a very different scenario,” he says.

People should be treated like adults as they can be trusted to manage their own risks and moderate their behaviour accordingly, Heneghan argues.

But other experts point out that the real number of people getting Covid will be much higher than the number of positive tests and that even so, confirmed numbers have shot up in recent days.

And it usually takes a lag of around two weeks from someone getting sick with Covid to require hospital treatment.

Here's a bit more on the photograph showing a gathering of staff in the Downing Street garden, which the Guardian says was taken during lockdown, on 15 May 2020.

At that time, gatherings of more than two people were banned in outdoor public places.

However because the picture appears to show a private garden, that restriction would not apply. Gatherings in private gardens were not banned until later in the pandemic.

People at the time were also not allowed to leave home except for certain reasons - but going to work was allowed if it was not possible to work from home.

The government argues that because No 10 was a workplace, and the gathering was attended by staff, it was a work gathering which was allowed as it was considered essential.

But the government has been asked why people in the photo appear to not be following the social distancing guidance.

Lawyer and Covid regulations expert Adam Wagner said there was "no way of knowing" from a picture that they were not working.

"I'm doubtful it was against the law (though it may have been against guidance)," he said on Twitter.

You can read the legal rules at the time here., external

And more on this story here.

Image source, Getty Images

A member of a group advising government on Covid restrictions says the photo of the No 10 wine and cheese gathering during lockdown is "damaging" at a time when politicians and the public need to pull together.

Stephen Reicher is professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews and a member of government advisory body the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (Spi-B).

He tells BBC Breakfast that polling suggests people are recognising the threat of Omicron and wanting measures such as nightclubs to be closed.

On tougher rules to slow the spread of Omicron, Prof Reicher says restrictions are "probably" needed but adds: "That needs to go along with adequate support for business and adequate support for individuals."

Asked about Christmas, he says "the safest thing is not to meet up before Christmas" but if you do, make sure you take a lateral flow test, think about social distancing and meet outside if possible.

Image source, Reuters

Health officials are warning Americans to take extra precautions while traveling over the Christmas period.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the president, said on Sunday that the Omicron variant was "raging around the world" and that there was "no doubt" festive plans will contribute to virus spread.

More than 100 million people are expected to travel across the US during the festive period, according to industry projections.

President Biden will reportedly address the nation about Omicron in a speech on Tuesday.

It comes as two US senators and former presidential hopefuls, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, both said on Sunday that they had tested positive for coronavirus.

We've been reporting that officials have drawn up three options for ministers to consider to slow the spread of Omicron.

The Daily Telegraph says there is strong cabinet opposition to tougher measures, external, but it understands the three ideas on the table are:

1. Urging the public to limit social mixing, without legal enforcement
2. Mandating curbs on household mixing, the return of social distancing and forcing pubs and restaurants to close at 20:00 GMT
3. A return to full lockdown. The Telegraph says it has been told one cabinet minister would resign if that happened

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told the BBC he could not make "hard, fast guarantees" that there would not be a Christmas lockdown.

The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the PM of being asleep at the wheel, and wants clarity about how Christmas will look as soon as possible.