Omicron is now the dominant variant of coronavirus in Wales, the country's deputy chief medical officer has said.

Dr Chris Jones says an additional 12,000 Covid cases were reported in Wales over Christmas.

The infection rate has risen to a record 1,004 in every 100,000 people.

"Our case rates were high before this Omicron wave started and our hospitals are already full as they try to deliver all the healthcare that's stacked up over the past year," Dr Jones says.

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The US and several European countries have reported their highest daily rises in Covid cases since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant spreads.

More than 440,000 new cases were recorded in the US on Monday, health officials said.

France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and England have also reported record numbers of daily infections.

Officials say the high figures could be due in part to reporting delays over the Christmas period.

Studies suggest Omicron is milder than the previously dominant Delta variant, but fears remain that the sheer number of cases stemming from the highly infectious Omicron could overwhelm hospitals.

The World Health Organization is warning the risk posed by Omicron "remains very high", external.

Covid data only tells us so muchpublished at 11:03 Greenwich Mean Time 29 December 2021

11:03 GMT 29 December 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

With the Omicron variant leading to milder disease, we need to think differently about Covid now.

Hospital data requires much closer analysis than it once did.

On paper there is the highest number in hospital in England since early March.

But that has been artificially inflated by two things this week.

Firstly, the number of people being discharged from hospital will have dropped significantly over the festive period. Last year the rate of discharged halved, meaning there are likely to be hundreds of patients in hospital who have recovered from Covid.

Secondly a growing proportion of hospitalisations are for what is known as an incidental admission. They are people being treated for something else, but just happen to have Covid.

Last week this stood at about three in 10, but the expectation is this will have increased by now. The latest figures will be released on Thursday.

Therefore, it is possible of the 9,500 in hospital maybe around 6,000 are acutely unwell with Covid.

These numbers are undoubtedly going to go up in the coming weeks as Omicron spreads.

But the raw data will only tell us so much.

Boris Johnson says people should enjoy New Year in a "cautious and sensible way".

Asked about reports of people travelling across the border from Wales and Scotland into England to celebrate, he tells reporters: "I think everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way.

"Take a test, ventilation, think about others - but above all, get a booster."

Asked why he has acted differently to the leaders of the devolved nations in the UK, Johnson says the balance of the risks has been looked at and again says boosters have made a difference.

"We're looking at the data and what we're seeing is that we've got cases certainly going up, we've got a lot of cases of Omicron, but on the other hand we can see the data about the relative mildness of Omicron and what we can also see is the very, very clear effect of getting those jabs," he says.

And asked where he has been in the past 10 days he says: "I've been in this country."

Boris Johnson says he "cannot stress too much" how important it is to get a booster jab against Covid-19 to be able to enjoy New Year "sensibly and cautiously".

The prime minister says there were 2.4 million eligible double-jabbed people who were yet to take up the offer of a booster.

He tells reporters: "I'm sorry to say this but the overwhelming majority of people who are currently ending up in intensive care in our hospitals are people who are not boosted.

"I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90% of people in intensive care, who are not boosted.

"If you're not vaccinated, you're eight times more likely to get into hospital altogether.

"So it's a great thing to do. It's very, very important. Get boosted for yourself, and enjoy New Year sensibly and cautiously."

He says every adult in the country should have been offered a slot to get a booster by 1 January.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the vaccination campaign has allowed England to maintain its current level of coronavirus controls.

"The Omicron variant continues to cause real problems. You are seeing cases rising in hospitals," he tells reporters during a visit to a vaccination centre.

"But it is obviously milder than the Delta variant and we are able to proceed in the way that we are."

That is due to the "huge proportion of the British public" which has been vaccinated, he says.

"That is allowing us to go ahead with new year in the cautious way that we are."

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Scotland's Deputy First Minister has told anyone planning to travel to England to celebrate New Year amid more relaxed Covid restrictions it would be the "wrong course of action".

John Swinney says while there is nothing legally to stop party-goers from heading south of the border, where nightclubs are still open, for their Hogmanay celebrations, this would go against the "spirit" of the regulations put in place by the Scottish Government.

That has seen nightclubs ordered to close their doors again for at least three weeks from 27 December.

Limits on the number of people who can take part in events - capping these at a maximum of 500 out of doors, with smaller numbers permitted indoors - have also forced the cancellation of New Year's Eve street parties, including the one planned for Edinburgh.

Instead, the Scottish Government is urging people to "stay at home as much as possible" - with any meet-ups to be limited to a maximum of three households.

What are the Covid rules in Scotland?

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

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Poland has reported its highest number of Covid-19 deaths since April, with more than three-quarters of the people who died unvaccinated, according to Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska.

That figure of 794 could be inflated by delayed reporting because of the Christmas holiday period. He tells Polsat TV that 600 of the deaths reported in the previous 24 hours were people who were unvaccinated while the remainder were mostly senior citizens, often with underlying medical issues.

Poland’s 55% vaccination rate is well below the EU average. That is probably one of the reasons why a country with a population of just under 38 million has reported a total of 95,708 deaths, while neighbouring Germany, with more than twice as many inhabitants, has recorded just 16% more deaths and has a vaccination rate of over 70%.

The number of new Covid-19 infections in Poland is down 13% from a week earlier, Kraska says. Cases have been falling week on week since the beginning of December. However, Poland has confirmed just 25 cases of the Omicron variant, and the number of new infections is expected to begin rising again in January.

There are currently no PCR test appointments available to book in England or Northern Ireland and no home tests available to order on the NHS website.

Appointments are available in Scotland and Wales.

PCR tests, which are required for people who have Covid symptoms or who have tested positive on a lateral flow test, were also periodically unavailable for parts of the UK on Monday and Tuesday.

People are advised to try again later if they can't currently get a test.

A record 117,093 cases were reported in England on Tuesday.

"No PCR" has been trending on Twitter in the UK this morning.

We've contacted the UK Health Security Agency for a response.

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The Scottish Parliament will be recalled later for a Covid update from the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The virtual session was announced last week after the latest restrictions in Scotland were outlined.

Sturgeon has warned Covid cases are likely to increase further as new figures indicate virus levels in Scotland remain at record levels.

We don't know what Sturgeon is expected to say but will bring you the latest as we have it.

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As pharmacies report patchy supplies of lateral flow tests, the work and pensions minister says people should "persevere" in their efforts to get them.

Chloe Smith tells BBC Breakfast there is a spike in demand for lateral flow tests because people are being sensible and cautious around Christmas and New Year.

"What we've done in response to that then is double the delivery capacity - so we've taken action to make sure that people can get testing kits delivered to them at home. An additional method to that, of course, is going to a pharmacy," she says.

"What I would say is to please persevere with either making use of your friendly local pharmacy or using the delivery method on the Gov.uk website."

She says stock is being replenished behind the scenes and deliveries are being made to pharmacies.

When do I need to take a Covid test?

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Pharmacists are urging the government to ensure they have enough coronavirus lateral flow tests after demand soared because of changes to measures to slow the spread of Omicron.

Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association Of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there is "very high" demand for lateral flow tests after self-isolation rules changed in England.

People with Covid are now able to end quarantine after seven days instead of 10 by providing negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven.

Hannbeck says people wanted to take tests so they could safely meet family and friends over New Year.

"Every five minutes approximately somebody comes into the pharmacy and asks for tests," she says.

"But unfortunately because of the issues around supply being patchy and inconsistent it means that those who come forward for the test don't always get it, which very stressful not just for the pharmacy but also for the patients."

How do I get a lateral flow or PCR Covid test?

Covid cases in England have hit another record high, after 117,093 infections were reported on Tuesday.

Some 9,546 people are in hospital with Covid, the highest since March but well below the peak of 34,000 in January.

Full UK-wide Covid data has been unavailable over the Christmas period.

It’s likely there won’t be a national picture until the first week of January.

Image source, PA Media

We do not yet know enough about the Omicron variant of Covid to reduce the self-isolation time to five days, an NHS leader says.

Matthew Taylor from the NHS Confederation tells the Today programme staff absence “is a huge issue for the NHS right now”.

Up to four in 10 NHS staff in London are said to be absent because of sickness or seven-day Covid quarantine.

Taylor says if self-isolation were to be reduced to five days it would have to be based on very clear data that shows it would not increase the rate of infection.

“While anyone in the NHS would be delighted if people were able to come back to work earlier if they are safe... we need to be absolutely sure that is the case,” he says.

"If the rate continues to rise in the way that it's rising at the moment it’s going to be potentially peaking around the middle of January, which traditionally is the time at which demand on the NHS is at its greatest," he says.

Taylor says although Omicron appears to produce less severe symptoms it could still have serious consequences for vulnerable people in hospital.

Image source, Getty Images

There are "no current plans" to cut the Covid isolation period in England to five days, a government minister says.

Chloe Smith, minister for disabled people, health and work, tells BBC Breakfast: "Of course, we have actually only recently taken it down from 10 to seven, and we want to look at that - we want to make sure that that is working as we believe it ought to.

"We think the current period, therefore, is the right one, so we haven't any plans to change that further."

It comes after Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford, yesterday told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he would support Covid self-isolation time being cut to five days if tests were negative on the final two days.

The Daily Mail has headlined with “Cut Isolation to Five Days" and says scientists have "lined up with MPs and business leaders" in urging Boris Johnson to reduce the length of time people in England who test positive for Covid need to quarantine.

The paper quotes an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme with Professor Sir John Bell who suggested he would support the move, external, as long as people produced a negative lateral flow test first.

The Times says the prime minister is under pressure to act because NHS bosses fear staff absences caused by longer isolation periods, external will become a bigger problem than the number of patients being admitted to hospital with Covid.

But the i believes the guidance is unlikely to change, external in the near future.

You can read a full review of this morning’s papers here.

Welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and around the world.

Let’s start with a morning briefing:

• Covid infections in England have hit another record high with a further 117,093 daily cases
• Meanwhile, The US and France have reported their highest daily rises in new Covid cases since the pandemic began
• The Scottish Parliament will be recalled later for a Covid update from the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
• Independent pharmacists in the UK are calling on the government to fix the “patchy” supply of lateral flow tests
• And the pandemic triggered a 71% drop in international flights in and out of the UK in 2021, according a new report.