Summary

  • No decision has yet been taken on Covid rules around the Christmas period

  • All close contacts of confirmed and suspected Omicron cases will have to isolate, in a tightening of current Covid rules

  • A total of 14 cases of the new Omicron variant have been detected in the UK, but none in Wales yet

  • Wales' chief medical officer says it is only a matter of time before Wales gets its first case

  • The first minister has asked for all secondary school pupils to wear face masks in class

Live Reporting

David Dulin and Ben Frampton

  1. Four more deaths in Wales

    coronavirus

    There have been four more deaths with Covid, according to the latest figures from Public Health Wales.

    This brings the total number of people who have died to 6,405.

    Meanwhile, there have been 1,972 new cases, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 508,932.

  2. What is the Omicron variant?

    Omicron graphic

    The new heavily mutated version of coronavirus is of "great concern" to scientists and one of most pressing questions is will vaccines still work?

    There are thousands of different types, or variants, of Covid circulating across the world which is to be expected because viruses mutate all the time.

  3. Hello

    Welcome to our live updates on the Welsh government's coronavirus briefing.

    Health Minister Eluned Morgan and Dr Gill Richardson, chairwoman of Wales' vaccination board, will outline what the next steps may be in Wales following the discovery of the new variant, Omicron.