Boris Johnson is due to give a statement to Parliament this afternoon on changes to Covid rules.
The Prime Minister met his Cabinet this morning to discuss surging Omicron cases before updating MPs at around 3.45pm - watch it live here.
Ministers are thought to have agreed to keep Plan B for England - with face masks in shops and on transport, and Covid passes for some venues.
But the PM is expected to continue his bid to "ride out the Omicron" wave without further restrictions - despite mounting hospital pressure.
The PM is also set to confirm changes to testing rules. Follow-up PCR tests will be axed from January 11 for people who get Covid with no symptoms in England.
Watch Boris Johnson speak at PMQs and give a Covid statement live here
Currently, anyone who tests positive using a lateral flow test (LFT) has to get a follow-up PCR test to confirm their result.
From January 11, people who test positive with no symptoms - said to account for around 40% of people with Covid - will no longer need this follow-up PCR test.
They will still have to isolate for at least seven days, but only from the date of their positive lateral flow test.
Meanwhile, the Government is poised to scrap pre-departure tests for travellers and Brits entering the UK as soon as today.
Ministers held a meeting about whether to relax the travel rules, with a final decision expected later on Wednesday.
Ahead of the announcement, Mr Johnson was also due to lead PMQs at 3pm.
The Omicron-driven surge in coronavirus cases and the knock-on effect of staff absences is already causing major problems in parts of the health service.
A string of NHS trusts declared critical incidents and hospitals in Greater Manchester said they will pause some "non-urgent" surgery over the "rising impact" of Covid-19 and staffing shortages.
A record 218,724 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases were announced in England and Scotland on Tuesday, though the figure will have been inflated by delayed reporting over the holiday period.
NHS England figures showed 15,044 patients with Covid-19 were in hospital on Tuesday morning, with 797 requiring mechanical ventilation.
Ms Keegan acknowledged the pressure on hospitals, saying: "Right now, they are under extreme pressure with the Omicron variant, with the number of positive cases and the increase in hospitalisations, and at this point in time when they always have extreme pressure."
Ahead of Wednesday's Cabinet meeting, Mr Johnson confirmed he would stick with the Plan B measures including work-from-home guidance, mask-wearing and Covid health passes ahead of the scheduled review of the regulations due to expire on January 26.
At a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday, he argued the booster roll-out has given substantial protection.
Mr Johnson added: "So together with the Plan B measures that we introduced before Christmas we have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again."
Mr Johnson accepted the weeks ahead are going to be "challenging" and said "some services will be disrupted by staff absences" as he pledged to "fortify" the NHS to withstand the pressures and protect supply chains.
Under the measures, he said 100,000 "critical workers" including those in transport, policing and food distribution will get lateral flow tests on every working day starting on Monday.
But he accepted the NHS was moving to a "war footing" and acknowledged the health service is under "huge pressure" while hospital admissions are "high".
