The isolation period for people who test positive for Covid has been cut to five full days in England
From Monday, people will be able leave isolation from the start of day six after two negative tests
While the UK is "learning to live with Covid" the NHS will remain under significant pressure, health secretary Sajid Javid says
In a fiery exchange, his opposite number Wes Streeting questions why Javid has defended Boris Johnson over parties
The PM continues to face calls to resign from Labour and some senior Tories over a drinks party during lockdown
He earlier cancelled a visit to Lancashire because a family member tested positive
France is relaxing its travel rules for vaccinated Brits, who will no longer need a compelling reason to go there
Travel firms say they have seen a sharp rise in bookings to French skiing destinations
And England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam is leaving his role
PM is the right person to lead the country - Brandon Lewis
While some senior Tories have called on Boris Johnson to resign after apologising for attending a gathering in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown, ministers - including Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis - have backed him.
Image source, GettDjokovic has been preparing for the Australian Open since a judge overturned the government's decision to cancel his visa
Novak Djokovic has been included in the Australian Open draw, as the decision over whether the defending champion can stay in the country drags on.
He will play fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round - if he's allowed to stay.
Djokovic is unvaccinated for Covid-19 and had his visa revoked when he arrived in Australia last week, following questions over the vaccine exemption that would have permitted him to enter.
Australia's immigration minister Alex Hawke is still deciding whether to revoke his visa again and throw him out of the country.
Yesterday Djokovic admitted meeting a journalist in the days after testing positive for Covid, as well as there being mistakes on his immigration forms.
Image source, PA MediaJonathan Van-Tam, who is leaving the role of England's deputy chief medical officer he has held since 2017, has become one of the pandemic's familiar faces and was a regular feature at government press conferences.
An expert in public health and infectious diseases, he is known for his colourful metaphors - as well as being an avid Boston United fan.
He was born to a British mother and French-Vietnamese father - both were teachers - and his paternal grandfather was prime minister of South Vietnam in the 1950s when it was a French protectorate.
The professor at the University of Nottingham, who lives near Boston, Lincolnshire, has previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry and for the UK Health Protection Agency.
Along with chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty, he was knighted in the New Year Honours list - you can read more about him here.
Image source, EPAMore now on France easing its travel rules for vaccinated British travellers.
The French tourism minister has announced that France will lift its ban on UK holidaymakers from Friday morning.
Travellers who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter France if they have evidence of a negative coronavirus test taken within 24 hours of departure. The requirement to isolate on arrival will be scrapped and they will no longer need a compelling reason to enter.
The decision to end the ban on non-essential travel will be a relief to travel firms and for Brits who have ski holidays booked this winter.
The surge of Omicron cases in the UK before Christmas led the French government to impose tough restrictions on cross-channel travel but since the new year there had been strong hints that France was going to loosen these measures.
The fact that Omicron cases in France itself have spiked is one major reason. On Wednesday, the country recorded 361,719 new Covid cases.
Jonathan Van-Tam says his time as England's deputy chief medical officer has been the "most challenging" of his professional career, particularly the Covid response.
"We all wish Covid had never happened. Notwithstanding, it has been the greatest privilege of my professional career to have served the people of the UK during this time," he says in a statement.
"I want to pay tribute to [chief medical officer] Professor Chris Whitty, the CMO team, my fellow scientists, public health professionals and clinicians whose support, wisdom and energy has been inspiring.
"There are countless numbers who work behind the scenes - all of whom have an unrelenting commitment to help and support the British public. It has been an honour to work with them all."
Following the news the prime minister has cancelled a visit to Lancashire after a family member tested positive for Covid, a No 10 spokesperson says Boris Johnson has been following the guidance for close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contacts with others.
In England, people who are fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate but should take daily lateral flow tests for seven days (or until 10 days since your last contact, if this is earlier).
People are also advised, external to limit close contact with people outside their household, especially in crowded, enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces.
If any of the tests are positive, people must then self-isolate.
Close contacts of positive cases who are not fully vaccinated still have to self-isolate for the full 10 days.
Image source, PA MediaProf Jonathan Van-Tam will continue in his role advising the government until the end of March.
He is set to return to his role at the University of Nottingham, from where he has been on a much-extended secondment since 2017.
However, it is not clear why the scientist is leaving his job with the government. We'll update you as we get more.
Jonathan Van-Tam is leaving is his job as England's deputy chief medical officer, the health secretary has revealed.
Sajid Javid tweeted it had been an honour to work with the scientist, adding he was "grateful for his advice" and the "vital role he has played in our vaccination programme".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pulled out of a planned visit to Lancashire "due to a family member testing positive for coronavirus", Downing Street says.
Restrictions on vaccinated people travelling from the UK to France are being relaxed, the country's tourism minister says.
Since 18 December most travellers from the UK who are not French residents or citizens have needed a "compelling reason" to go to France.
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne wrote on Twitter, external the need for a "compelling reason" and to isolate for at least two days on arrival will end. He says the change comes into force tomorrow.
A negative test taken in the previous 24 hours will be required for entry.
Labour shadow minister Lisa Nandy says "it just doesn't stand up" that no rules were broken by the prime minister attending a garden party in May 2020.
"People were being threatened with criminal sanctions if they didn’t comply with those measures," the shadow levelling up, housing and communities secretary tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
She says the prime minister is "taking people for fools".
Nandy adds the inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray could be overtaken by a criminal inquiry by the Met Police because of the "sheer volume" of gatherings that appear to have taken place in government buildings.
You can read about the alleged gatherings she is investigating here.
A decision on whether to reduce the isolation period for Covid cases from seven days to five is "imminent", the BBC understands.
A government source says ministers are set to meet today to discuss relaxing the quarantine rules for people who test positive for the virus.
Currently people must self-isolate for up to 10 days, but can be released on day seven if they test negative twice 24 hours apart on days six and seven.
Image source, PA MediaBrandon Lewis says the prime minister's apology yesterday was "very sincere".
"With hindsight" the Northern Ireland secretary says Boris Johnson regrets not telling staff gathered in the Downing Street garden to go back inside.
Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme whether the gathering was a party or a work event, he says the prime minister "saw it as a work event".
Addressing reports Johnson told MPs in the Commons tea room he didn't believe he had done anything wrong, Lewis says he wasn't there but adds: "I haven't heard him say that at all."
Reaction to Johnson party apology in Wolverhampton
People in Wolverhampton have been reacting to the prime minister's apology over a party held at No 10 during lockdown.
As we've been reminding you, Boris Johnson said at PMQs yesterday he was sorry for the way he handled the event in the Downing Street garden in 2020 and said he understood the public's "rage" over it.
Police should not investigate the May 2020 Downing Street garden party, a Conservative police and crime commissioner says.
Peter McCall, PCC for Cumbria, says police have consistently said they won't look into historic breaches of Covid regulations and the police approach "was always to encourage, explain, educate and enforce as a last resort”.
"Obviously with a historic case, you can’t go through those first three steps," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"I think we’re on a really difficult slope when we start to try and use policing to fight our political battles.
"For me, this issue, to be honest, is more one about moral leadership," he says, adding that if he were Boris Johnson he would be "seriously considering my position".
Brandon Lewis says Boris Johnson is the right person to be prime minister and he thinks he will win the next election.
The Northern Ireland secretary says the PM was right to apologise for what happened but he has always been focused on doing the best thing for the country - including the vaccine rollout, improving the economy and reforming health and social care.
He says the results of Sue Gray's investigation into lockdown parties at Downing Street will be made public and the prime minister will make a statement to Parliament.
He adds he is sure she will work "very meticulously" and "without fear or favour".
The Northern Ireland secretary says he "absolutely" offers his full support to the prime minister.
Asked on BBC Breakfast what Boris Johnson had done wrong, Brandon Lewis says that "with hindsight [the prime minister] regrets going out to the garden" and recognises the "frustration, anger and upset" about what people perceived to be happening at Downing Street.
However, he says people should wait for the results of an ongoing inquiry by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, adding: "You’ve got to let these investigations get to the full details and the full facts."
Conservative MP Jake Berry says the prime minister's apology was "very contrite and heartfelt" and "to some extent" allows him to lead the country until the publication of a report into parties in government buildings during lockdown.
Berry, who founded the Northern Research Group of MPs who represent so-called "red wall" former Labour seats, says the mood among his colleagues "isn't great" and there is "a lot of concern" about the "damage" the revelations are doing to the Conservative Party.
However, he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that after Boris Johnson's apology yesterday "there was a bit of a turning of colleague's opinions".
Defending the prime minister, he says Johnson "has made, time after time, the right calls on Covid".
"In terms of the big picture - getting Covid right, opening up our economy, driving down unemployment, saving hundreds of thousands of businesses - those are the decisions that matter, they’re the ones he’s got right," he adds.
Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor
The prime minister's admission and apology in the Commons likely bought him a little time.
A pause until the official inquiry into what parties did or didn't take place in Downing Street is published, in perhaps a week or so.
But for many on his own side, Boris Johnson has already lost the benefit of the doubt.
Growing numbers of his own MPs want him out, discussing frantically how and when his exit could take place.
But in truth, there is no fixed plan among Boris Johnson's opponents.
Labour shadow minister Lisa Nandy says the prime minister's position is "completely untenable" and he should "come clean" about the parties he and other ministers attended.
The shadow levelling up, housing and communities secretary says it sounded like Boris Johnson was apologising "for the perception of what had happened" and "because he was sorry he got caught".
"The amount of hurt and anguish this has caused for people is unbelievable," she tells BBC Breakfast.
She rejects the idea people should wait for the results of an ongoing inquiry, adding: "The PM has had ample opportunities to level with the public and it’s about time he was honest with us."