Here are the coronavirus morning headlines for Monday, January 17, as people in England can end their coronavirus isolation after five full days in a move hailed as restoring "extra freedoms".
It comes as a Cabinet minister struck an optimistic note by saying the signs for lifting restrictions in England later this month are "encouraging".
Ministers are seeing “encouraging” signs that plan B coronavirus restrictions in England could be lifted in 10 days’ time, the co-chair of the Conservative party Oliver Dowden has said.
Current measures in England, including guidance to work from home and the widespread use of face coverings, were imposed in early December to help tackle the spread of Omicron. They are set to be reviewed on 26 January.
On Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford said that current level two restrictions will be lifted by January 28. Read the timetable here.
In a change to self-isolation guidance from Monday, people in England can leave quarantine after five full days, so long as they test negative on days five and six.
Ministers had been under pressure to reduce the isolation period - which was previously seven days - to help address staff shortages across the economy and public services by allowing people to return to work earlier.
The Government said research showed that between 20% and 30% of people are still infectious by day six, but the percentage of those released while infectious falls to around 7% if people have two consecutive negative tests and then leave isolation from day six.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Following a robust review of the evidence, we have reduced the minimum self-isolation period to five full days in England.
"This is a balanced and proportionate approach to restore extra freedoms and reduce the pressure on essential public services over the winter.
"It is crucial people only stop self-isolating after two negative tests to ensure you are not infectious."
The Department of Health said the default self-isolation period remains 10 days, and that people can only end it early if they receive two negative results on consecutive days - the earliest being days five and six.
In Wales, Mr Drakeford said changes could be made if backed up by new evidence.
A charity giving care and help to people with learning disabilities wants Wales' Covid self-isolation periods cut to get staff back to work more quickly.
Perthyn head Steve Cox said January has been the most challenging period in the pandemic with staff off and isolating.
He told BBC Wales: "It would be really helpful if we were able to get staff back as quickly as possible and we want to do that in a way that is safe for them and safe for the people they support.
"Given that there's a criteria of having two negative tests to come back we feel that is enough of a safeguard.
"Another thing, in England after day 10, there is no need to do further tests which we would also welcome."
'Promising data' as England's Plan B is reviewed
As Boris Johnson prepares to review the Plan B rules on mandatory mask-wearing, working from home and Covid passes on January 26, Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden indicated things are looking good for a rolling back of measures.
He said there has been "some very promising data" on infections and hospital admissions from the Omicron variant, which "gives us pause for hope and optimism".
Mr Dowden told Sky News' Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme: "It has always been my hope that we would have the Plan B restrictions for the shortest period possible.
"I'm under no doubt the kind of burdens this puts hospitality, wider business, schools and so on under, and I want us to get rid of those if we possibly can.
"The signs are encouraging but, clearly, we will wait to see the data ahead of that final decision."
Welsh minister explains what could stop Covid restrictions being lifted in Wales
Wales' economy minister has said Wales was right to impose restrictions to deal with Omicron.
Vaughan Gething defended the limits which have been in place and outlined what could stop all restrictions being lifted, as planned, by the end of January. You can read those plans here
Speaking on BBC Wales' Politics Wales, he was asked by host James Williams: "Given that we've seen broadly the same patterns in all of the UK nations, are you still confident that the restrictions that you introduced made a significant difference?"
Mr Gething replied: "We haven't seen broadly the same that is in all of the UK nations.
"If you look at what's happened where there's been a much lower level of protective measures in England, they have risen faster and there's an appreciable gap between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"If you look at the figures on hospitalisations, and if you look at the gathering data, I'm afraid on mortality, in the last week or so about 1,800 people across the UK lost their lives that's a significant loss of life. You'll find England is disproportionately a larger part of it. This isn't something that is like the common cold. Omicron is more transmissible. It's milder, but it's not mild and that's been the challenge that we faced.
"We can be confident that more people would have come to harm without the protections we had in place." Read more of his interview here.
PM 'questioned by Sue Gray' as another claim of No10 party emerges
Boris Johnson has reportedly been interviewed as part of the investigation into partygate allegations as claims of another lockdown breach in No 10 surfaced.
The Prime Minister is said to have "shared what he knows" with senior civil servant Sue Gray about alleged parties in Downing Street as she prepares to publish her report into claims of coronavirus rule flouting as soon as this week, the Daily Telegraph reported.
It comes as The Mirror said Mr Johnson attended a leaving do before Christmas 2020 during which he gave a speech to mark the departure of his defence adviser Captain Steve Higham.
No 10 did not respond to request for comment and the Ministry of Defence declined.
The leaving do claim is the latest in a long line of allegations about rule breaking in Downing Street, with Ms Gray looking into a litany of possible events, including a "bring your own booze" garden party during the first coronavirus lockdown that Mr Johnson has admitted he attended - although he insists he understood it to be a "work event".
Mr Johnson's sister, journalist and LBC presenter Rachel Johnson, told her listeners on Sunday that the Prime Minister was "completely compliant" with Covid rules whenever they met under restrictions.
Referring to the May 20 2020 BYOB event, she said: "To my mind, if he did go out into the garden, and he has told us he did, for him that would have been work."
In a bid to survive the partygate storm, reports have suggested Mr Johnson could overhaul his top team, with the likes of his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, who sent an email inviting staff to enjoy the good weather in the No 10 garden in May 2020, being shown the door as part of a move said to have been dubbed "Operation: Save Big Dog".
The Times said a bid to save Mr Johnson's premiership would include an announcement putting the military in charge of preventing small boats from crossing the Channel, as the Prime Minister looks to push "populist" policies.
A change being considered could, according to the newspaper, include processing asylum seekers in Ghana and Rwanda, although the Home Office would not be drawn on such suggestions.
Other touted policy announcements include attempts to reduce the NHS backlog and freeze the BBC licence fee for two years, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries hinting that the current model for funding the public broadcaster could be scrapped altogether.
Social media pictures surfaced on Sunday, apparently showing the office of Robert Largan, the Tory MP for High Peak, graffitied repeatedly with the words "Lies".
It comes as Tory MPs wrestled publicly with their conscience over the weekend as a sixth backbencher, Tim Loughton, demanded that the Prime Minister resign, citing the "terminal damage" the revelations have done to his reputation.
Others, such as former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said it was for Ms Gray to determine what Mr Johnson knew about possible lockdown breaches in No 10, while newer MPs suggested the affair raised questions about the "moral authority" at the top of Government.
At-risk children aged 12 to 15 eligible for booster
Clinically vulnerable 12 to 15-years-olds in England who are most at risk from coronavirus will be able to get their Covid booster jab from Monday.
Around 500 children will be eligible, including those receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy, those with leukaemia, diabetes, chronic diseases or severe mental illness, and those who live with someone who is immunosuppressed.
They are entitled to their booster three months after their two primary vaccine doses, while severely immunosuppressed children can get their booster after a third primary dose.
Those who have tested positive for Covid-19 must wait 12 weeks before getting their booster, or at least four weeks if they are in the highest risk groups.
GPs have already begun sending out invites to the parents or guardians of eligible children, encouraging them to secure an appointment through a local booking system.
The youngsters can also get the jab at hospital hubs, via their GP, through a home visit or by going to a walk-in vaccination site - as long as they show their NHS invitation letter.
Parents are asked to accompany their children.
Unvaccinated people to be excluded from venues under new French law
France's parliament has approved a law that will exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas and other venues as the central measure of government efforts to protect hospitals amid record numbers of Covid-19 infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The National Assembly adopted the law by a vote of 215-58. Centrist president Emmanuel Macron had hoped to push the Bill through faster, but it was slightly delayed due to resistance from politicians both on the right and left and hundreds of proposed amendments.
More than 91% of French adults are already fully vaccinated, and some critics have questioned whether the "vaccine pass" will make much of a difference.
Mr Macron's government is hoping the new pass will be enough to limit the number of patients filling up strained hospitals nationwide without resorting to a new lockdown.
New confinement measures would strike another blow to the economy, and could also cloud Mr Macron's chances of re-election in the April 10 presidential vote.
Up until now, a Covid-19 pass has been required in France to go to restaurants, cinemas, museums and many sites throughout the country, but unvaccinated people have been allowed in if they show a recent negative test or proof of recent recovery.
The new law requires full vaccination for such venues, including tourist sites, many trains and all domestic flights, and applies to everyone aged 16 and over.
Some exceptions could be made for those who have recently recovered from Covid-19.
The law also imposes tougher fines for fake passes and allows ID checks to avoid fraud.
More than 76% of French ICU beds are occupied by coronavirus patients, most of them unvaccinated, and some 200 people with the virus are dying every day.
Like many countries, France is in the grip of an Omicron wave, recording more than 2,800 positive cases per 100,000 people over the past week.
To get the latest email updates from WalesOnline click here
