Here are the coronavirus headlines for Friday, December 10, as First Minister Mark Drakeford is set to take the latest coronavirus briefing as the country is facing a new wave of infections caused by the Omicron variant.
Wales is to stay on alert level zero despite a warning the country, but people are being asked to continue wearing face coverings in all public places and take regular lateral flow tests before going out help protect others in the lead-up to Christmas.
The announcement came after reports the First Minister of Wales had called for a complete lockdown between Christmas and New Year during a phone call between Michael Gove and the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
People will also be urged to get their booster jabs during a press conference on Friday when Mark Drakeford will discuss the findings of the Government's three-week review. There will be live updates from the briefing, which begins at 12.15pm.
Getting a third dose of the vaccine is the best protection against the new variant, the First Minister said.
He added: "Every single vaccination is a small victory against the virus - so please make getting your vaccine or booster a priority."
Those who test positive are strongly advised to not go out, self-isolate and arrange for a PCR test.
Mr Drakeford said: "The emergence of the Omicron variant is another worrying development in this long-running pandemic. We are concerned about the speed it is moving and its potential to infect large numbers of people.
"We are speeding up the rollout of boosters in response to the new variant. We're increasing the number of clinics and extending opening hours."
He added: "We are not back at square one.
"Please do everything you can to protect yourself and your loved ones. Please follow all the advice and all the measures which have kept us safe over the last couple of years. And let's stay safe and well this Christmas."
The Welsh Government say more than a million people have already received their booster vaccine.
There remains only a handful of Omicon cases in Wales - nine are currently confirmed.
Ministers have said preparations must be made for cases to rise quickly and sharply given there is now widespread community transmission in many parts of England and Scotland.
Mario Kreft, chairman of Care Forum Wales, said they had been in conversations with Welsh Government on Thursday about the situation at the frontline of social care.
He told BBC Radio Wales on Friday: "It is very clear there is now great concern in our country with this new variant that is doubling every two to three days that we are looking anxiously at Christmas and what will happen next.
"At the moment the government is trying to be proportionate. However, it is very, very clear people are going to have to take care and it is a race against time to get the booster.
"If it hadn't been for vaccinations we would be in another national lockdown today. We are desperately hoping Christmas will be a different picture from last year, but we are looking anxiously at the future."
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Infection rate in Wales rises
A further 15 people have died with coronavirus in Wales according to the latest figures from Public Health Wales.
New data published which covers the 24-hour period up to 9am on December 8 shows the total number of deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test in Wales now stands at 6,467.
There were also 2,302 new positive cases recorded in the latest update bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 529,840.
The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales, based on the cases for every 100,000 people (for the seven days up to December 4) now stands at 507.1 – a rise from the 498.9 reported on Wednesday.
The local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales remains Gwynedd with 872.7 cases per 100,000 population over seven days followed by Anglesey with 839.5 and Bridgend with 620.2. Cases for your area here.
PM under pressure as fresh claims emerge over alleged No10 Christmas bash
Fresh claims have emerged over an alleged Christmas bash in No 10 as the Prime Minister remained under intense pressure, fighting several fires threatening his party.
A senior Tory MP urged Boris Johnson to "get a grip" on matters following reports that Downing Street's director of communications made a speech and handed out awards at the event said to have taken place on December 18, 2020.
ITV News reported on Thursday that Jack Doyle, who was then deputy director of communications at No 10, addressed up to 50 people at a Christmas gathering said to have been held on that date.
It is understood that Mr Doyle spoke to the press office to thank them for their work, as he did every week, and presented some awards to mark the team's efforts.
Downing Street refused to comment further than to say a fact-finding review was ongoing.
Mr Doyle has been approached for comment.
As the new allegations surfaced, a probe into reported Covid-rule busting gatherings in Government was branded a "sham" by Labour, while the party's leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested the PM was not up to the job.
A tweet from his official account on Thursday night said: "Boris Johnson is unfit to lead our country."
Sir Keir also told The Telegraph: "I'm confident we're going to win the next general election, whether that's in 2023 or 2024.
"So the question - and this is really the question that I think is central now - for the Cabinet, for ministers and for all Tory MPs, frankly, is are they prepared to endure the next two years of increased degradation of themselves and their party, being put out to defend the indefensible and bringing themselves and their party into further disrepute?
"Because this isn't going to change - he's unfit for office, it isn't going to change. Or are they going to do something about it?"
The Prime Minister has been fielding criticism from across the political spectrum in light of allegations that rules were flaunted at the heart of Government last year.
Mr Johnson announced on Wednesday that an internal investigation led by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case would look into reports of a staff gathering held in Downing Street just days before Christmas, when London was under Tier 3 restrictions.
The probe was subsequently widened to include another festive celebration and a reported staff leaving do.
Separately, Mr Johnson is facing questions over whether he misled an investigation into donations for refurbishments to his Downing Street flat after the Electoral Commission fined the Tories £17,800.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner accused the Prime Minister of having "lied" to his standards adviser Lord Geidt by saying he did not know who was behind the payment, but No 10 insisted Mr Johnson had been honest and followed the rules "at all times".
Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who is treasurer of the 1922 Committee, said on Thursday that "the truth must come out" about the various allegations levelled at Downing Street.
He told BBC's Newsnight: "What we need from all of this is a really straightforward version from the Prime Minister on all of these serious issues - whether it's by investigation of the most senior (civil) servant Simon Case on the Downing Street parties, whether it's by investigation by Lord Geidt on the donations to the Downing Street flat - all of these things need to be investigated and the truth must come out."
He added: "The whole parties issue could have been investigated in a day or two, a week or so ago, and the correct version given - whoever it was who organised whatever it is that we don't know or do know that happened.
"The truth should have been given and then the appropriate action against those who organised these parties - if that's what they were, or gatherings... the appropriate disciplinary action should have been taken.
"And I think now as other commentators have said, the Prime Minister needs to get a grip on all of these matters."
Masks become mandatory in most indoor settings in England
Masks must be worn in more settings including cinemas, theatres and churches as measures are tightened in England in a bid to slow the spread of the latest coronavirus variant.
Tougher restrictions have been branded a "necessary evil" by a scientist advising the Government, who said the new approach "absolutely is not an overreaction".
From Friday, in England the legal requirement to wear masks has been extended to more indoor spaces including museums, galleries and community centres.
Sports stadia are also included in regulations published on Thursday evening, but the Department of Health confirmed face coverings will only be mandatory in indoor areas.
There were a total of 817 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant in the UK as of Thursday, the UK Health Security Agency said. No new cases were announced in Wales on Thursday.
It comes as Public Health Scotland urged people to cancel their Christmas parties, in a message which clashes with Boris Johnson's suggestion that festive bashes in England should still go ahead despite a call for workers to stay away from offices.
Dr Nick Phin, the organisation's director of public health science, said revellers should delay their festive gatherings until another time to help in the effort to slow virus spread.
Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said cases of the variant will keep rising.
On restrictions, he told a Royal Society of Medicine briefing: "I think it's a necessary evil ... it's very damaging for parts of the economy, the hospitality sector, retail sector in particular - they're going to be affected.
"Unfortunately, we have to do it. The rate at which this virus is spreading is doubling every two or three days."
He added: "Even though there's very few cases here now, and it seems like an overreaction, it absolutely is not an overreaction."
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has warned that the number of UK Omicron infections could hit one million by the end of the month.
He has insisted the new measures are necessary to "build our collective defences" through the vaccination programme in the face of the rapidly-spreading variant.
Ministers have faced criticism for introducing tougher measures, with anger in the Conservative party fuelled by suspicions the new restrictions were introduced as an attempt to distract from the Prime Minister's troubles over an alleged staff party in Downing Street during last December's lockdown.
Friday's measures come ahead of a return to working from home on Monday and mandatory Covid passports for large venues from Wednesday, as the Government's Plan B comes into force.
The new regulations will be put to a debate and vote in the Commons next week - and with Labour's support they are certain to be approved, despite the prospect of a large Conservative revolt.
Despite officials appearing to say that under new rules shoppers could be allowed to remove their face coverings in supermarkets if they walked around the store singing, regulations state that someone may take a mask off if it is "reasonably necessary" to sing.
The regulations state that such occasions "include singing as part of a choir, or during a service or rehearsal, or for performance".
Downing Street has said it would be "hard to justify" people having a "reasonable excuse" to remove their masks to sing while getting groceries under the new rules.
Masks do not need to be worn in hospitality settings such as pubs and restaurants, or in gyms or nightclubs.
The Plan B measures will be reviewed on January 5, before their expiry date of January 26.
Government urged to name date for coronavirus public inquiry
The Government is being urged to publish a timetable for the holding of a public inquiry into coronavirus and to make sure it reflects the diversity of the UK population.
Groups including the TUC and the Bereaved Families for Justice called for the immediate announcement of a start date for the inquiry, saying it should be no later than April next year.
A date would "help those who have lost most to start to feel that there will be an explanation coming for that loss", said the group in a letter to the Prime Minister.
TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "With reports that Downing Street held a Christmas party last year while the rest of us followed the rules and did not see close family and friends, we urgently need to get on with a 'no holds barred' public inquiry.
"Our key workers - the teachers, nurses and delivery drivers - helped get Britain through the pandemic, but they were let down by the government.
"Years of cuts to public services made it harder to fight the pandemic. Our hospitals and care homes were understaffed and didn't have proper PPE, and of the UK's broken sick pay system badly undermined the public health effort.
"We owe it to our key workers and to those who died to take an unflinching look at what went wrong. And to look at how we can be better prepared for pandemics in the future.
"The government must get on with announcing the start date for the inquiry and talking to unions, bereaved families and other stakeholders."
Jo Goodman, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said: "We've been calling for an inquiry to start for over 18 months so that lessons can be learnt to protect the lives of others. It's hard to explain how frustrating it is to be facing the Omicron variant having been continually ignored, and knowing that lives could be at risk unnecessarily as a consequence.
"Everybody agrees that this inquiry must be focused on learning the lessons that will save as many lives as possible going forward. That means it must place those who have been most impacted at its heart, which of course includes those who have tragically lost loved ones.
"It must also include regular interim reporting so that lessons can be learnt as it progresses and start as soon as possible, so that more time isn't wasted.
"Following events of the last few days it's clear only an inquiry will restore trust and transparency in time to learn lessons and save lives. This inquiry will be the biggest in British history and we simply can't afford to get it wrong."
Danish schoolchildren told to study at home
Denmark's government has decided that school pupils up to 16 years old must study remotely for the last few days before Christmas break and ordered nightclubs, bars and restaurants to close at midnight as part of efforts to counter a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, also banned concerts where audiences have more than 50 people standing and required restaurant patrons to wear face masks when they are not seated.
He further recommended Wednesday that people work from home.
The measures apply as of Friday and are set to last for four weeks. The virtual teaching starts on December 15. In Denmark, schools go on Christmas break from December 20.
Speaking of the omicron variant, Frederiksen said that it is "expected that this will mean more infected, more sick and thus potentially more hospitalized patients."
"Thus, the new variant also entails a significant risk of critically overloading the health service, and that is why we now have to do more," Frederiksen said.
Norway on Tuesday introduced a 10-person limit for gatherings at private homes, although the number will be increased to 20 on Christmas and New Year's eves. It also is capping attendance at public events without assigned seating at 50.
In addition, the government says it is advising people to work from home when possible and reintroducing a social distancing requirement for restaurants.
Neighbouring Sweden also has recommended that employers give their workers the opportunity to work from home, and face masks are required on public transportation when crowding cannot be avoided.
Slovakia to pay people over 60 if they are vaccinated
Slovakia's parliament has approved a plan to give people aged 60 and over up to 300 euros (£260) if they are vaccinated against Covid-19.
The measure, drafted by Finance Minister Igor Matovic, should boost inoculations in the European Union country with one of the bloc's lowest vaccination rates. It should also help the struggling healthcare system amid a record surge of new infections.
So far, only 46.5% of the nation's 5.5 million people have been fully vaccinated.
In the 97-13 vote, parliament agreed that those who have received at least one primary dose of the vaccine by January 15 will receive 200 euros (£170) in cash, and those who have received a booster by that date will get 300 euros (£260).
The deal is a compromise because the current four-party ruling coalition in Slovakia was split over the issue.
The original plan had been to give people vouchers worth 500 euros (£430) that could be used in certain businesses, but it was opposed by the pro-business Freedom and Solidarity Party.
Slovakia has been facing a record surge of infections, making it one of the hardest hit nations in the world.
The country has been under lockdown since November 25, with citizens allowed to leave their homes only for specific reasons. Those who are unvaccinated and have not recovered from Covid-19 are required to get tested to attend work. Only stores selling essential goods have remained open.
Starting on Friday, the government has agreed to ease the lockdown for vaccinated people and those who have recently recovered from Covid-19.
Currently, 3,419 people are in hospital in Slovakia, putting the health system under pressure. If the number reaches 3,800, the government plans to impose more restrictions.
Slovakia has reported over 757,000 coronavirus cases and 15,179 deaths in the pandem
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