James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

The new variant was first detected in September. In November it made up around a quarter of cases in London. This reached nearly two-thirds of cases in mid-December.

Three things are coming together that mean it is attracting attention:

• It is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus
• It has mutations that affect part of the virus likely to be important
• Some of those mutations have already been shown in the lab to increase the ability of the virus to infect cells

All of these come together to build a case for a virus that can spread more easily. However, we do not have absolute certainty. New strains can become more common simply by being in the right place at the right time - such as London.

There is no evidence yet to suggest the variant makes the infection more deadly, and at least for now the developed vaccines will almost certainly work against it.

However, if the virus changes so it dodges the full effect of the vaccine, then "vaccine escape" happens, and this may be the most concerning element.

Read more from James

UK Labour leader Keir Starmer has urged the prime minister to show "strong, clear and decisive leadership", saying coronavirus is now "out of control".

In a speech, he called on Boris Johnson to address the nation following Monday's meeting of the emergency committee Cobra, in light of rising infection rates and "severe disruption" at the UK's ports.

"We can have no more over-promising and false hope, confused messages and slow decision-making," he added.

The governments of India and Russia have both joined a growing number of countries that have announced travel restrictions to the UK after a new coronavirus strain was identified.

Other countries include:

• Europe: France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Croatia, Finland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania
• North America: Canada
• Latin America: Argentina, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador
• Middle East and North Africa: Turkey, Israel, Iran, Kuwait, Morocco. Saudi Arabia has also suspended all international flights for a week. Oman has closed all of its land, air and sea borders for a week
• Hong Kong has also introduced restrictions

You can read more about the global travel restrictions here

US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has shared her experience receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to her 8.2 million Instagram followers.

"I would never, ever ask you to do something I wasn’t willing to do myself," she wrote in the caption.

In a series of videos, Ocasio-Cortez documented her experience from completing a health questionnaire, to receiving the vaccine and how she felt afterwards.

She and other members of the House of Representatives have been offered the vaccine as part of measures to ensure the continuity of government.

Ocasio-Cortez isn't the first politician to share their experience of the jab - US Vice-President Mike Pence was vaccinated on live TV on Friday, alongside his wife and US Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the most senior Democrat in Congress, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have also received the vaccine.

Image source, Getty Images

Eurotunnel says having a testing regime in place is key to opening up the Channel ports to passengers and freight wanting to cross from the UK to France.

John Keefe, Eurotunnel's spokesman, told BBC Radio Kent all travel from the UK to France had been suspended but Eurotunnel was still open for travel and goods coming in the other direction.

"People have got to avoid travelling, but we want to be ready to restart as soon as we can," he said.

"A lot of the conversation that's going on is about how we can open up the border again and that's mostly about testing.

"It all depends on how quickly we can get the testing regime in place and how quickly we can get trucks moving again."

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The coronavirus pandemic has put paid to many couples' dreams of a large wedding.

But one Malaysian duo has managed to dodge restrictions which would have limited the guest list to 20 and welcomed a reported 10,000 people to their nuptials, all in a Covid-secure manner.

Can't be done, you might say. But it can, if you make your wedding a drive-thru event.

On Sunday morning, the newly-weds were seated outside a grand government building in Putrajaya, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur, while guests slowly drove past in their cars.

The windows had to remain rolled up and guests only got a socially distant wave from the wedding party.

It may not sound like your everyday wedding, but then, groom Tengku Muhammed Hafiz and bride Oceane Alagia are not exactly your everyday couple.

The husband is the son of influential politician and former cabinet minister Tengku Adnan - who also happened to be celebrating his birthday on Sunday.

Read the full story here.

Police won’t be checking up on people’s Christmas celebrations in London, according to the chairman of the Met Police Federation.

The UK government has introduced strict coronavirus measures in south-east England which means residents will only be allowed to celebrate Christmas with members of their own household and support bubbles.

On Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was the job of the police to enforce the law.

However, Ken Marsh told the BBC News Channel: "It’s not a tough ask for us because it won’t be happening."

He said his colleagues "won’t be knocking on people’s doors at all", unless there is a large group - such as a party - but "there is no way" the force would be dealing with smaller gatherings.

Marsh said it was always the job of the police to "police the law" but it has to be something "we can police, it has to be something we understand, and it has to give us time to digest what is being put in place".

He added that the laws were changing "on a daily, weekly basis making it very, very difficult" and some of them were "not obtainable" in terms of what the police were being asked to do.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa’s new variant of Covid-19 was discovered earlier this month, when scientists noticed a number of mutations during routine surveillance of the virus. Local scientists say that South Africa’s new variant appears to be unrelated to the new variant found in the UK.

But it does share one important mutation affecting the way the virus attaches to human cells - and scientists speculate that’s what’s behind the faster transmission of this virus.

Researchers in the UK say the mutated virus there is 70% more transmissible. But experts in South Africa say they are still gathering data on this – but expect this may be the case here too.

In South Africa the new variant was first discovered in the Eastern Cape province - it has since spread to the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The country recently entered a second wave of infections - which has led to new regulations to try to slow the spread of the disease, including the closure of some of the major beaches.

Mutations in viruses are not uncommon, experts say. It is not clear at this stage whether the new variants are more deadly. Scientists say more research is needed on this, and also on whether the mutations could lessen the effectiveness of vaccines.

Some countries have now banned flights from South Africa and the UK including Germany and Switzerland. While El Salvador has banned any travelers who were in the UK and South Africa in the last 30 days.

Image source, PA Media

There is a "very, very strong correlation" between the areas in the UK showing the fastest growth in Covid cases and this new coronavirus variant, according to Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag).

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The analysis we've collectively (been) undertaking in the last week has shown it would be very unlikely for this just to be a chance event."

He said the fact that the standard swab test "behaves differently" with the new variant meant that they had been able to track it and the data "shows that case numbers of this variant are growing much, much faster than case numbers of the old viruses".

Asked about the claim the prime minister was being "bounced by the science" into introducing new restrictions over the weekend, he said: "No... new variants of viruses like this emerge all the time and evidence builds slowly."

He said Public Health England and the geneticists brought the information to Nervtag 10 days ago "when there was enough evidence to be somewhat concerned and that evidence has firmed up considerably since then".

He added: "At no time did Nervtag try to advise the government 'you need to do this', we just presented the data as it was on the virus."

BBC Radio 5 Live

The decision by France to close its border with the UK seemed an "odd" decision, said Richard Burnett, head of the Road Haulage Association, given freight had been flowing throughout the pandemic.

"Right the way through the pandemic we've had this principle where all the borders have remained open to critical freight, to ensure that food and medical supplies continue to move," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up to Money programme.

"We've had to manage different strains and different issues... We've worked very hard over the last nine months to ensure that the borders have been kept open, to keep that flow of products going.

"I understand that we want to try to contain the spread, but I think we've done that in a very practical way as a logistics industry, across Europe, throughout this year.

"It's going to be a pretty frustrating, miserable existence for the next 48 hours," he said.

Image source, PA Media

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Denmark is set to dig up millions of mink that were culled because of a mutated form of coronavirus.

About four million mink will be exhumed from mass graves and incinerated to prevent pollution, the government said.

It is set to happen in May, when officials say the risk of coronavirus contamination from the dead animals will have passed.

More than 15 million mink have been culled in Denmark, devastating its fur industry - the largest in the EU.

Some of the mink buried in mass graves in a military area in the west of the country have resurfaced because of the nitrogen and phosphorus gases produced by their decay.

The two burial sites are highly controversial, as one is near a bathing lake and the other not far from a source of drinking water. Residents have complained about the potential risk of contamination.

France has said it plans to reach an EU agreeement to allow traffic to and from the UK to resume.

"In the next few hours, at European level, we're going to establish a solid health protocol to ensure that movement from the UK can resume," Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on Monday.

The European Council of government representatives is meeting this morning to discuss a joint response to the spread of a new coronavirus strain in the UK.

A number of countries in Europe and elsewhere in the world have announced temporary bans on travel to and from the UK.

Shares in London have fallen sharply and the pound has lost ground after several EU countries closed their borders to the UK over a new variant of coronavirus.

The FTSE 100 share index fell about 1.8%, while the main markets in Germany and France were more than 2% lower.

Sterling fell about 1.4% against the euro and dropped 2% against the dollar.

Restrictions on travel hit airline stocks, with British Airways' owner IAG and EasyJet tumbling 9%.

Read more.

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After months of wrangling, US lawmakers have agreed to a roughly $900bn (£660bn) package of pandemic aid, including money for businesses and unemployment programmes.

The money is set to accompany a bigger, $1.4tn spending bill to fund government operations over the next nine months.

Many Covid-19 relief programmes were set to expire at the end of this month and about 12 million Americans were at risk of losing access to unemployment benefits.

The House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to vote on the package on Monday. It will then need to be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

Find out more here.

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Updated guidance has been issued for the clinically extremely vulnerable in tier four areas of England, strongly advising them to stay at home as much as possible.

The group includes people whose immune systems may be suppressed or people with other specific conditions such as certain cancers or respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Letters will be going out to all those affected by the guidance later this week.

Under the updated guidance, external, which is the same as was in place during England's November lockdown, they are strongly urged to:

• Stay at home as much as possible, except to exercise or attend health appointments
• Not to attend work, even if they are unable to work from home. People in the same household who are not clinically extremely vulnerable can still attend work, in line with the new national restrictions
• Not to attend school during term time. Children who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable but are not themselves should still attend school
• Avoid all non-essential travel

The government said support would be available for those who need it, such as access to food and medicines.

Those with more general underlying health conditions or people aged 70 or over may still be more vulnerable to Covid-19 than the general population, so are advised to stay at home as much as possible, carefully follow the rules and minimise contact with others.

Palestinian Christians are preparing to go ahead with Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem later this week despite a surge in coronavirus cases in the West Bank.

Midnight mass at the Nativity Church on Christmas Eve will take place but with no congregation.

Practice for the scout bands that lead festive processions has been disrupted by lockdowns but scouts say they still hope to bring a message of comfort and joy.

Image source, PA Media

Lorry driver Rick Mayo, who is headed to Spain but is currently stuck at a motorway services in Kent, has said "the whole situation is ridiculous", after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours due to fears over a new variant of coronavirus.

This means no lorries or ferry passengers will be able to sail from the port of Dover in Kent, south-eastern England, to France.

Mayo told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "In all honesty, truck drivers don't come into contact with people, we're in the truck on our own, we self-isolate for three or four days at a time.

"When I leave home I don't see anybody or talk to anybody for the first three and a half days and even then it's limited, with masks and with gloves on."

Lorry drivers have now been urged not to travel to ports in Kent, as vehicle queues continue to grow.

In a bid to ease congestion in the county, emergency measures known as Operation Stack are now in place on the coast-bound M20.

Read more.

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The new coronavirus variant which has rapidly spread in parts of southern England has an "unusual number of mutations", according to virologist professor Wendy Barclay.

Prof Barclay, head of infectious disease at Imperial College London, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We normally see the viruses differing from one another by one or two changes, but this one has in total 22 all at once.

"That's immediately a sort of a bit of an alarm bell... but biologically it's feasible that the virus could have changed the way it behaves because of those mutations."

She said it was now important to understand whether the vaccines were still effective against the new variant.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

Image source, Reuters

Here at the entrance to the port, a big sign warns drivers - the French border is closed.

But the message hasn't got through to everyone. A steady stream of lorries and cars have been arriving, only to be promptly turned away.

The port and Eurotunnel shut to traffic heading to France at around 23:00 GMT last night - in what is being described as an unprecedented situation.

One haulier who was stuck in a queue and failed to get on a ferry on time told me he turned around and went home.

But that option simply isn't available to foreign drivers. They are facing at least two days stuck in their cabs.

Part of the M20 motorway has been turned into a giant lorry park, as the government pleads with hauliers not to head to Kent.

It's set to be a challenging few day on this side of the Channel.

France's deputy minister for European affairs, Clément Beaune, has been talking about the travel restrictions introduced in response to the new variant of coronavirus detected in the UK.

France, along with a number of other countries, has introduced 48-hour bans on UK flights ahead of an EU meeting at 10:00 GMT today.

"We must take an urgent, hard measure, because it is about health protection," Beaune said of the two-day restrictions in an interview with radio France Inter this morning.

"It's 48 hours to do three things: clarify scientific information and provide transparency, 48 hours to co-ordinate even better at European level."

He added that officials were also considering how to manage the situation of French nationals stranded in the UK: "We have to look for solutions for them beyond this very strict blockage of 48 hours."

"We have a very simple message for them: do PCR tests," he said, referring to the standard swab test used to identify coronavirus infections, adding that a negative test result would "surely" be required if the French government was able to organise transport for citizens to return home.

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