Image source, PA Media

Earlier, we reported that 18,829 NHS staff at acute trusts in England were absent for Covid-related reasons on 19 December - up 54% on the previous week (see post at 10:06 GMT).

In an interview with broadcasters this morning, Health Secretary Sajid Javid acknowledged these absences were adding to pressures on the health service, but said the easing of self-isolation rules would help.

This week it was announced that people infected with Covid in England can stop self-isolating after seven days instead of 10 by providing negative lateral flow results on days six and seven.

Javid says: "The NHS workforce was already under pressure before Omicron came along. There is increased pressure in many workforces at the moment, especially if someone needs to isolate if they have a positive case.

"Some of the recent moves we have had, moving from 10-day to seven isolation if you take a test in the last two days, I think all of that will help."

More now from Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has welcomed studies that suggest the Omicron variant may be milder than Delta, which had been the dominant strain in the UK and the world.

Javid says it is "good, encouraging news" - but points out that it could still lead to "significant" hospital admissions.

He also says it remains unclear how much the risk of serious illness in people who get Omicron is reduced.

Javid adds: "We do know with Omicron that it does spread a lot more quickly, it is a lot more infectious than Delta, so any advantage gained from reduced risk of hospitalisation needs to be set against that.

"If a much smaller percentage of people are at risk of hospitalisation, if that is a smaller percentage of a much larger number, there could still be significant hospitalisation."

The government is right not to "rush" into imposing new restrictions in England, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester has said.

Andy Burnham told BBC Breakfast curbs would damage people's mental health and ministers had to be careful that "whatever is done is proportionate".

The prime minister has said no new measures will be brought in for England before Christmas, despite the surge in Omicron cases.

Burnham said the issue of maintaining public services while large numbers are isolating was the "single biggest worry" for Greater Manchester.

The mayor said levels were currently "manageable" but in January it may be necessary to ask the government to reduce the number of days NHS staff are forced to isolate.

The number of NHS staff missing work because of Covid increased by 54% last week compared to a week earlier.

Image source, PA Media

As we have been reporting, the BBC had learned there would be no announcements of any future Covid restrictions before Christmas - although this does not mean further measures could not be imposed after Christmas.

Now Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed the news in an interview with broadcasters.

"We are not planning any further announcements this week," he says.

"Despite the caution that we are all taking, people should enjoy their Christmases with their families and their friends - of course, remain cautious.

"We will keep the situation under review. We are learning more all the time as we have done from this new data.

"We will keep analysing that data and if we need to do anything more we will, but nothing more is going to happen before Christmas."

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be with the Queen on Christmas Day, a Clarence House spokesman says.

The 95-year-old monarch has already cancelled her traditional pre-Christmas lunch for extended family as a precaution following the surge of Omicron.

For the second year in a row the Queen will spend Christmas in Windsor, rather than Sandringham in Norfolk as she normally does.

The palace said the Queen's change in plans was "precautionary".

Image source, EPA

A number of European nations have announced new restrictions to help tackle the rise in cases.

As mentioned earlier, Spain is set to announce new measures including mandatory mask wearing outside.

In Sweden, people must work from home if they can and restaurants and pubs have to serve guests at tables.

Germany will shut nightclubs and restrict private gatherings to 10 people from 28 December.

Austria is to start closing restaurants at 22:00 from Monday 27 December and it has recommended that people celebrate the new year on a small scale. The evening curfew is being used as a signal that it is "no time to celebrate", according to Chief Medical Officer Katharina Reich.

Shops in Slovenia have been told to limit the number of customers, according to the size of the premises.

France has not yet announced extra restrictions - and is instead relying on its ramped-up booster programme.

Image source, Getty Images

The Scottish Conservatives have criticised an announcement that nightclubs must close for three weeks from 27 December, saying a detailed support package should have been set out at the same time.

Murdo Fraser, the party's Covid-19 recovery spokesman, said: "This news is a further setback to a sector already on its knees as a result of previously-announced restrictions to tackle the spread of Omicron.

"I understand that this is a fast-moving situation but, when announcing this enforced shutdown, John Swinney should have spelt out the exact details of the support package that will be given to nightclub businesses, rather than merely promising an update on allocation 'as soon as possible'.

"That's not good enough - businesses on the brink need to know now exactly what financial support they will receive, and when."

Image source, EPA

Wait times for patients arriving by ambulance at A&E hospital departments in England were down slightly last week compared to the previous seven days.

One in five patients waited at least half an hour to be handed over to A&E staff in the week to 19 December, according to NHS England figures.

A total of 16,410 delays of 30 minutes or more were recorded across all acute trusts, representing 20% of all arrivals - down from 23% the previous week.

Some 7% of arrivals last week (6,124) took more than 60 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, down from 10% in the previous week.

A handover delay does not always mean a patient has waited in the ambulance. It could be that they were moved into an A&E department, but staff were not available to complete the handover.

• You can check the latest NHS data in your area here

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People in Spain will have to wear face coverings outside under new plans announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

On Tuesday Spain saw a record 49,823 cases.

In Spain, the Omicron variant is believed to account for almost half of infections.

Mr Sánchez told regional leaders the mask measure would be put to ministers and signed into law before Christmas.

Dr Catherine Smallwood, a senior emergency officer for the WHO in Europe, told the BBC’s Today programme that outdoors carries much less risk than indoors. But if you’re in a crowded area then the WHO would recommend the wearing of masks.

Read more here

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It may be some time before vulnerable primary school children get a Covid vaccine, a government adviser says.

On Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said vulnerable five to 11-year-olds should be offered a low-dose jab.

However, Prof Anthony Harnden, the committee's deputy chairman, said on BBC Breakfast the NHS is currently putting a "huge amount of effort into the adult booster rollout and it "may take a period of time" to deploy vaccines for younger children.

The recommendation on children's jabs is still awaiting formal approval from ministers.

Asked whether a fourth dose could be offered to adults, as Israel has recommended for over-60s and healthcare workers, Prof Harnden said the committee needs to see more data on whether there is waning immunity or increased risk of hospital admission in the months after a third dose.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

If you have a sore throat, runny nose and a headache there is a good chance it could be Covid caused by Omicron, say UK researchers, external who have been tracking the pandemic using feedback from the general public.

The Zoe Covid study team says there has been an "explosion" of cases. They estimate around 144,000 people a day are catching and then feeling somewhat unwell with the virus.

For most, it is a mild disease. Some get no symptoms at all. But it can still cause very serious illness in some people, including those who have not been vaccinated.

If you have cold-like symptoms, get a Covid test, says lead scientist Prof Tim Spector.

"The number of new symptomatic cases has exploded over the last week.

"For most people, an Omicron positive case will feel much more like the common cold, starting with a sore throat, runny nose and a headache. You only need to ask a friend who has recently tested positive to find this out.

"We need to change public messaging urgently to save lives."

Cold or coronavirus - what are the symptoms?

We've just posted on the sharp increase in the number of NHS staff in England having to miss work because of Covid.

But how much pressure are Covid patients themselves putting on the health service?

Earlier we heard from Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital and ambulance services in England.

He said the NHS was facing its busiest Christmas period ever, with overall bed occupancy rates at 94.5% compared to 89% last year.

There are 7,080 patients in hospitals in England with Covid, according to the latest data , external- that's around 6% of all occupied beds. That compares to more than 34,000 during the January peak earlier this year.

Some 1,061 patients were admitted to hospitals in England with Covid on Monday, with the weekly total up 2.3% on the previous seven days.

However, it’s not just Covid patients putting pressure on services.

On 14 December – the latest data available, external - there were 925 adult critical care beds occupied by Covid patients, compared to 2,657 occupied by non-Covid patients.

For adult general and acute beds the figure was 4,868 for Covid patients and 81,290 for non-Covid patients.

A total of 18,829 NHS staff at acute trusts in England were absent for Covid-related reasons on 19 December, up 54% on the previous week, according to new figures.

In London, the figure was 3,874 - more than double the number a week earlier.

The total includes staff who were ill with Covid-19 or who were having to self-isolate.

The capital was hit by the Omicron surge earlier than the rest of the country so has a higher number of cases.

Scotland's deputy first minister John Swinney says the country's nightclubs that can operate with table service and social distancing could remain open.

Announcing the new rules to Holyrood’s Covid 19 recovery committee, he said financial support would be made available to those venues that close.

Nightclubs in Scotland will close for three weeks from 27 December to try to stem the wave of Omicron - and similar measures have already been announced in other parts of the UK.

In Northern Ireland, clubs will have to close from 06:00 GMT on 26 December.

And in Wales, nightclubs originally told to close from 27 December, will now shut a day earlier.

Nightclubs in England have not been told to close - and, as we've reported, the BBC understands no new restrictions will be announced before 25 December.

As we've just heard, Scottish nightclubs will close for three weeks from 27 December. But they were already facing tough rules, as part of Scotland's new restrictions., external

• From 05:00 on 26 December, attendance at large events in Scotland will be limited to 100 people for indoor standing events, to 200 people for indoor seated events, and to 500 people for all outdoor events seated or standing
• From 05:00 on 27 December, there will be one metre physical distancing between adults in all indoor hospitality and leisure settings

The Scottish government has announced that nightclubs in Scotland will close for three weeks from 27 December.

We already knew that no new Covid restrictions would be imposed in England until after Christmas Day.

Now, the BBC understands that no new restrictions for after Christmas will be announced before 25 December.

That does not mean there won't be any restrictions after 25 December - but if there are, they won't be announced today or tomorrow.

The government has said it is monitoring the data on Omicron's severity.

Image source, Getty Images

While the government has promised there will be no new restrictions for England before Christmas, the uncertainty about plans for after then is causing problems for businesses.

Dermot King, chief executive of Oakman Group, which has over 30 restaurants, wedding venues and pubs, mainly in the home counties, says the level of uncertainty is “hampering” his business.

He tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme his venues have already seen “steady cancellations” since the announcement of Plan B measures and the week between Christmas and new year is “critical” for hospitality.

“We’re assuming next week we will be open as normal… until we hear something different,” he says. “We’re still ploughing ahead, perhaps optimistically, but we have no other option.”

He describes the current level of government support as “wholly inadequate and wholly insufficient”, adding that if businesses are shut down, ministers need to “come up with a significantly better package”.

Image source, Getty Images

The NHS in England is busier than ever been before at this time of year, the head of an organisation representing hospitals and ambulance services says.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, says analysis suggesting Omicron is milder provides "some good news" but there still is not "conclusive data" on the impact the variant could have on hospital admissions, as there is not enough information on older people.

“When we talk about the pressure on the NHS, everybody's just focusing on Covid hospital admissions and what we’re not doing is looking at the broader picture," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme."

"If you look at the broader picture then we’re busier at this time of year than we’ve ever been before."