Here are the morning headlines for Saturday, December 15, as Wales begins its journey back to alert level zero.
The first lifting of restrictions sees the number of people who can be present at outdoor events rise from 50 to 500 from Saturday.
The First Minister announced this easing of restrictions during his live coronavirus briefing on Friday, December 15.
This is the first of several over the next fortnight that will see Wales return to alert level zero - and minimal coronavirus restrictions - if the public health situation continues to improve and cases continue to fall.
Mark Drakeford said that rates had fallen from 2,300 per 100,000 of the Welsh population last Friday (January 7), to 1,200 this week, which had given Welsh Government the "space" to start lifting restrictions.
A timetable has been shared showing which of Wales' restrictions will be lifted on Friday, 21 January and Friday, 28 January. Read more about the timetable here.
It has also been confirmed that the Six Nations will be able to go ahead as planned with crowds.
Weekly Downing Street parties reported during the pandemic
No 10 regularly hosted 'wine-time Fridays' throughout the pandemic with Boris Johnson regularly witnessing the gatherings, a report says.
It is believed that the gatherings were scheduled into the electronic calendars of about 50 No 10 staff between 4pm and 7pm every week, and encouraged aides to "let off steam".
A picture shows £142 drinks fridge, purchased to keep their white wine, Prosecco, and beer cool, being delivered through the back door of Downing Street on December 11, 2020, The Mirror reports.
Sources said the gatherings occasionally went on until as late as midnight with up to two dozen aides drinking alcohol and playing games like Pictionary.
The Prime Minister was said to have attended a “handful” of the gatherings at points when indoor socialising was banned under lockdown rules.
These include an event on November 13, 2020, the day Dominic Cummings walked out of No 10, when he stayed for a glass of wine and chatted to the team.
The reports join a host of parties reported throughout the pandemic, including a 'cheese and wine' party, 'Socially distanced drinks' in No 10's garden, a Downing Street Christmas party and t wo leaving parties at Downing Street on the eve of Prince Phillip's funeral.
Read more: Full list of government lockdown parties - and what the rules were at the time
A No 10 spokeswoman said: "There is an ongoing investigation to establish the facts around the nature of gatherings, including attendance, setting and the purpose with reference to adherence to the guidance at the time.
"The findings will be made public in due course."
'No payments' for unvaccinated healthcare staff sacked in English mandatory jab plans
Unvaccinated healthcare staff in England face being sacked without an exit payment, an official document shows.
Frontline staff must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with two jabs by April 1 - meaning they must have had their first vaccine on February 3.
Healthcare employers have been told that from the following day - February 4 - unjabbed staff should be invited to a meeting and told that a potential outcome may be dismissal.
The guidance, published on Friday and reported on by the Health Service Journal (HSJ), is for the implementation of Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment (VCOD).
The 24-page document says: "It is important to note this is not a redundancy exercise. In the context of the regulations, there is no diminishment or cessation of work of a particular kind.
"Employers will not be concerned with finding 'suitable alternative employment' and there will be no redundancy entitlements, including payments, whether statutory or contractual, triggered by this process.
"The redeployment or dismissal of workers is determined by the introduction of the regulations and an individual's decision to remain unvaccinated.
"Whilst organisations are encouraged to explore redeployment, the general principles which apply in a redundancy exercise are not applicable here, and it is important that managers are aware of this."
The guidance says employers should engage and work in collaboration with their trade union or staff side representatives, as to the formal measures being taken "in respect of redeployment processes and potential dismissals of staff due to VCOD".
Alternative options potentially available to an unvaccinated staff member - such as any possible adjustments to their current role, restrictions to duties or redeployment opportunities available - should also be explored, the document says.
It adds: "From 4 February 2022, staff who remain unvaccinated (excluding those who are exempt) should be invited to a formal meeting chaired by an appropriate manager, in which they are notified that a potential outcome of the meeting may be dismissal. Meetings may take place in person or virtually."
Tens of thousands of UK Covid-19 cases missed from daily figures
Tens of thousands of new cases of coronavirus in the UK are not being included in the official daily figures, analysis suggests.
An average of 114,600 new cases were recorded each day in the week to December 23, according to the Government's Covid-19 dashboard.
But the true figure might have been more than three times that number, according to new estimates published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It means more than one and a half million new cases of coronavirus could have been missed from the official figures in the week before Christmas.
High levels of underreporting will still be affecting the Government's daily figures, meaning the current volume of cases in the UK is unclear.
The ONS has published the data as part of its weekly infection survey, which estimates both the overall prevalence of the virus across the country and the number of new cases.
All estimates are based on analysis of nose and throat swabs taken from a representative sample of more than 150,000 people in private households.
They show there were an estimated 357,600 new cases of Covid-19 each day in the week to December 23, more than three times the 114,600 recorded on the Government's dashboard.
And in the seven days to December 17, the ONS estimated 221,200 new cases in the UK - nearly three times the number on the dashboard, which was 80,400.
Number of deaths in Scotland after positive Covid test passes 10,000
More than 10,000 people in Scotland have died after testing positive for coronavirus, according to latest figures.
Scotland has recorded 41 coronavirus-linked deaths and 9,910 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, data published by the Scottish Government on Friday, December 15=4 shows.
It means the death toll under this measurement, of people who tested positive for the virus in the past 28 days, has risen to 10,038.
Scotland's Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, has said that the Omicron wave of coronavirus appears to be "decelerating", though he stressed that more data is needed for a definitive answer.
He said: "As we acknowledge the 10,000th Covid-19 death reported in Scotland under the daily measure it is important to remember that this is not just a statistic.
"Every single one represents a person lost, families devastated and communities mourning. I want to send my heartfelt condolences to all of those affected by the loss of a loved one.
"While we continue to navigate the difficult road ahead, I also want to thank everyone for their continued efforts to help prevent the spread of the virus."
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