The prime minister says that from next week daily tests will be made available for essential workers in certain sectors such as food processing and the Border Force.

He says the government will work with the affected areas on the logistics, but they will be sent lateral flow tests every week.

The government has identified 100,000 critical workers who they want to take daily lateral flow tests, he says.

Boris Johnson continues by saying that despite the huge increase in cases, there is a "substantial" level of immunity in the population.

He says this means there is a chance to “ride out this Omicron wave” without shutting down the country once again

But he says the weeks ahead are going to be “challenging” and some services will be disrupted due to staff absences.

The prime minister opens by saying that anyone who thinks our battle with Covid is over is profoundly wrong.

"This is a moment for utmost caution," he says.

We know Omicron is milder and cases are not translating into the same intensive care demand as previous waves, he says.

PM Boris Johnson is up and speaking at a Downing Street press conference. He is speaking shortly after the UK announced more than 200,000 new Covid cases in a single day for the first time.

Stay with us for key updates.

In a few minutes, PM Boris Johnson is being joined by Prof Sir Chris Whitty and Prof Sir Patrick Vallance for a Covid press conference.

We'll update you with all the key points, and you can also watch it live on this page.

Jim Reed
Health reporter, BBC News

The North East Ambulance service says it has implemented new contingency measures over the bank holiday weekend because of increased demand and staff sickness linked to the Omicron variant.

It means some category two patients will be asked to make their own way to hospital in a car or taxi rather than waiting for an ambulance. Category two covers a broad range of potentially serious conditions including strokes, chest pain and sepsis although an individual clinical assessment will be made in each case.

The service says it has seen an 80% increase in Covid-related absences over the last six days, with more than 260 of its roughly 3,270 staff and volunteers off work yesterday due to Covid alone.

Dr Mathew Beattie, medical director for North East Ambulance Service says: “Patient safety is our top priority and the impact of increased activity and staff sickness, linked to the Omicron virus, meant that we needed to act to protect our response to the critically unwell.

“We are experiencing long waits within the dispatch and clinician stacks coupled with delays in handover of patients at hospital which reflects the pressures being felt across other parts of the system.”

The decision to implement measures from the highest level of its clinical escalation plan were made on New Year’s Eve and will be reviewed later this afternoon.

Image source, PA Media

In about half an hour, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be holding a media briefing covering the latest on coronavirus.

He'll be joined by Prof Sir Chris Whitty, England's (recently knighted) chief medical officer, and Prof Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser.

You can watch the whole event live on this page.

We'll also be bringing you all the updates on the key points that come up.

A total of 218,724 people have been reported as testing positive for Covid in the UK, according to government figures.

This is the highest daily total we've seen, however it does include tests recorded on previous days.

Due to not all cases being reported over the Christmas holidays, they include Northern Ireland case numbers over four days - and Wales' case numbers over two days.

Image source, PA Media

There is nothing in the data at this point that "suggests that we need to move away from Plan B", Health Secretary Sajid Javid says.

Javid spoke to the media after a visit to a vaccination centre in south London, and says: "There's nothing in data at this point that suggests that we need to move away from Plan B.

"I think Plan B, implementing that, has been the right approach and also being absolutely focused on the vaccination programme."

He adds the government is not looking at cutting the self-isolation period for those who test positive to five days.

"Our decisions are based on the very latest evidence. So we're quite clear where we are with your seven days, but you know, you need those two negative lateral flow tests in the final two days, is the right balanced proportionate approach."

The pace of vaccine rollouts around the world is in the news again today, after the scientists leading the group behind the Oxford vaccine said it's not practical to give booster jabs to everyone on the planet every six months.

Prof Andrew Pollard also highlighted how the pace of the vaccination rollout varies hugely around the world - with large proportions of people in poorer countries still without a first dose, while many richer countries are offering boosters.

Separately, we've updated our graph showing how the UK's case rate compares with the rest of Europe:

Image source, Reuters

NHS England announced last month eight Nightingale "surge hubs" would be set up to create extra capacity to treat patients with Covid.

One of the hubs will be at the St James's University Hospital in Leeds. But the British Medical Association (BMA) is warning staffing the Leeds hub will mean "falling further behind" on routine work.

Dr Brian McGregor, of the BMA union's Yorkshire Regional Council, warns: "Each bed takes two to three staff to run it 24/7.

"The workforce that can work is working, and how we cover staffing of these units is going to be the most important part because you're going to be taking staff away from other pathways and other workload."

The hubs will be temporary structures set up in the grounds of hospitals so staff, equipment and emergency departments are close at hand. Only those patients who are close to being discharged and need minimal support will be cared for at these facilities.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said he hopes the new hubs will not have to be used.

Read more here.

Hazel Shearing
Education correspondent

Pupils in England have been taking lateral flow Covid tests before heading into classrooms today.

At a school in Stoke-on-Trent, pupils were asked to take their tests at numbered tables in the school hall.

They were then asked to wait in a separate room while their result became clear, before heading into class.

Image source, Getty Images

More than 400,000 booster and third doses were recorded across the UK during the past four days over the New Year, figures from the UK's four health agencies show.

A total of 34,363,986 extra doses had been delivered as of Monday 3 January - the first time we've had a UK-wide figure since 30 December, when the number stood at 33,924,738.

It means 439,248 booster and third doses have been recorded from New Year's Eve to 3 January.

About 64% of all adults in the UK have now received a booster or third dose.

A cinema ordered to close, after refusing to enforce Welsh laws requiring customers to show a NHS Covid pass, went on to premiere a film by the son of conspiracy theorist David Icke, it's emerged.

Anna Redfern, owner of Swansea's Cinema & Co, admits showing a film making serious unfounded allegations against the NHS after the first court order.

Directed and produced by Icke's son Jaymie, it makes several baseless accusations against NHS doctors and nurses, including that they are deliberately killing elderly people in hospitals to "boost the numbers" of Covid deaths.

The film was described as "completely false" and "dangerous" by the head of research for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, external.

Redfern said Cinema & Co did not practise censorship and she had found the film thought-provoking after caring for her mother at the end of her life and reflecting on her own mortality.

The production company behind the film has not commented.

Image source, Getty Images

There could be "significant disruption" to schools because of staff absences caused by Covid, a union in Wales says.

Laura Doel, director of NAHT Cymru, says a lack of teachers will be a "major threat" to education in January.

She says teachers are keen to get back into classrooms – the "best place for learners" – but precautions should be in place to protect staff.

Doel also says the promised several million pounds of ventilation machines for schools "have not been forthcoming".

Last month, the Welsh government told schools to plan for online learning in case of staff illness – but the current policy is to keep schools open.

Pupils in secondary schools in England have been asked to take a lateral flow test at school before heading into their lessons on Tuesday morning.

At one school in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, testing stations were set up in the main hall.

The US has recorded more than one million new Covid cases, as officials warn the peak of a fast-spreading Omicron surge is still to come.

A record 1,080,211 cases were reported on Monday - the highest one-day tally of new cases anywhere in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The Omicron variant accounts for a majority of cases in the US.

The top US pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci says the country is facing "almost a vertical increase" in cases.

He says the peak may be weeks away.

But Dr Fauci says the example of South Africa - where Omicron first spread rapidly before subsiding - offered some hope.

Rates of death and hospital admissions in the US have been far lower in recent weeks than in previous infection spikes.

Read more here.

Katy Austin
Business Correspondent

Image source, Get

We've been discussing reports of widespread staff shortages due to people having to self-isolate.

The supermarket chain Iceland is currently experiencing staff absence rates of about 11%, which equates to around 3,300 members of staff.

It says the situation is being exacerbated by Covid, although non-Covid absences have also risen.

The retailer is starting to consider closing some stores, as it did at the height of the so-called "pingdemic" in late summer last year.

Store closures would likely be across the UK but Wales is particularly badly hit.

Iceland says that in response, it has kept on temporary Christmas staff, and it has increased delivery capacity as there is no significant impact on drivers. It is also prioritising orders for vulnerable or self-isolating people.

Other retail industry insiders say absence rates overall remain lower than during last year’s "pingdemic" and the situation is currently manageable, although they’re monitoring it closely.

Philippa Roxby
Health reporter, BBC News

Image source, Reuter

There have been reports of a patient in Israel contracting both flu and Covid, external at the same time, which some news outlets have dubbed "flurona".

The patient in question had mild symptoms, was pregnant and had not been vaccinated, and has since been sent home from hospital “in good condition”.

Doctors in Israel say this is the first case of its kind, but it’s difficult to confirm.

Getting two infections at once is possible, but it isn’t common, and it may not always be detected.

Last year, there were warnings that flu and coronavirus would be spreading this winter and could cause more serious illness if contracted at the same time.

That’s why vaccinations against Covid and against flu were so firmly encouraged last autumn.

But, so far, the fast-spreading Omicron variant appears to have pushed out other viruses and there has been virtually no sign of flu in the UK so far, although cases do appear to be increasing now in Israel.

Symptoms of a double infection will be a whole lot milder if people are protected by the vaccines designed to target those two viruses.

Image source, PA Media

Earlier, we brought you the latest from Downing Street on Covid tests - with the prime minister's spokesman refusing to rule out rationing tests.

The government has drawn up a contingency plan to prioritise vulnerable people and some key workers in case there's a shortage of Covid tests - after reports of patchy supplies of lateral flow kits in recent weeks.

Asked whether the government was preparing to ration tests, the spokesman said: "We have one of the highest testing capacities in the world, certainly the highest in Europe. We would obviously need to keep under review, as prevalence is incredibly high, what the right approach might be and we continue to take advice on whether that is necessary."