Here are the coronavirus headlines for Thursday, February 10, as Downing Street staff are braced for questions from detectives investigating lockdown parties at No 10.
Officers from Operation Hillman will have begun sending legal questionnaires to more than 50 individuals by the end of the week, says Scotland Yard.
The investigation covers several events known to have been attended by the Prime Minister, suggesting he will be among the 50 identified receiving a demand for answers.
The announcement came after the Metropolitan Police said they would be widening their inquiries to cover a quiz night in No 10 in December 2020 after a photograph emerged of Mrs Johnson and colleagues near an open bottle of sparkling wine.
In a statement, the force said the questionnaire would ask for "an account and explanation of the recipient's participation" in an event that is the subject of police inquiries.
Recipients will be advised that the questionnaire has "formal legal status" and that they are required to respond "truthfully" within seven days.
In most cases, the contact will be by email.
"If following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice will normally be issued," the statement said.
"We understand the interest in and impact of this case, and are progressing the investigation at pace. We are committed to completing our investigations proportionately, fairly and impartially."
An interim report last week by the senior official Sue Gray disclosed that police were investigating 12 different events in No 10 and Whitehall over the course of 2020 and 2021 for possible breaches of Covid rules.
They include the notorious "bring your own booze" event in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 attended by Mr Johnson and a gathering in the Prime Minister's official flat in November 2020.
The Met said the Operation Hillman team is continuing to examine more than 500 documents and 300 images provided to them by the Cabinet Office and would be seeking further information to assist their inquiry.
Wales' latest data shows fall in Covid-19 cases while other UK nations see a rise
Covid-19 infection levels have risen in three of the four UK nations, with only Wales showing a fall, new figures suggest.
Scotland and Northern Ireland both saw an increase last week in the number of people in private households likely to have coronavirus, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
England also saw a rise, though the trend here is "uncertain", the ONS said.
The figures show there is still a high prevalence of the virus across the country, with infections remaining well above pre-Christmas levels.
Around one in 19 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to February 5, or 2.8 million people - up from one in 20, or 2.6 million people, in the week to January 29.
The estimates were published just hours after Prime Minister Boris Johnson signalled that laws requiring people in England with Covid-19 to self-isolate could be lifted within weeks.
In Scotland, around one in 25 were likely to have Covid-19 last week, or 211,300 people, up week-on-week from one in 30, or 185,100.
Northern Ireland also saw an increase, up from one in 15 people (or 136,300) to one in 13 (145,600) - the highest level since the ONS began estimating infections for this part of the UK in autumn 2020.
But infections have fallen in Wales, down from an estimated one in 20 people (or 139,000) to one in 25 (121,200).
Clinically vulnerable and carers 'left out' of plan to end self-isolation laws in England
The mother of a clinically vulnerable 23-year-old has described feeling "left out of the conversation" over the removal of self-isolation laws in England.
Boris Johnson said laws requiring people with Covid-19 to self-isolate will be lifted within weeks as he plans to present his strategy for "living with Covid" when Parliament returns from a short recess on February 21.
Georgina Sait, 55, works for a health charity in Suffolk and said she is concerned for the safety of her family as well as the financial impact on care workers.
She told the PA news agency: "I don't really understand how it's going to work, and it's quite concerning.
"My worry is that people will be forced to come into work, because they need the money... if they find themselves off sick, can they claim statutory sick pay?
"It just seems to be (the Government) hasn't thought about it."
Ms Sait's son Gabriel is autistic and has learning disabilities, epilepsy and type 2 diabetes.
He requires daily care from two teams of care workers, who Ms Sait believes will be "massively impacted" by the decision to end self-isolation laws.
"It's taking away support that they they could claim," she said.
"And they haven't thought about how it's going to impact people who are still vulnerable to Covid."
Ms Sait added she is "frustrated" by the omission of consideration for the lives of vulnerable people in the change of law being proposed.
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Sweden ends Covid testing as pandemic restrictions lifted
Sweden has halted wide-scale testing for Covid-19, even among people showing symptoms of an infection.
The move puts an end to the mobile tent sites, drive-in centres and home-delivered tests that became ubiquitous during the pandemic and provided essential data for tracking the spread of coronavirus.
The move puts the Scandinavian nation at odds with most of Europe, but some experts say it could become the norm as costly testing yields fewer benefits with the easily transmissible but milder Omicron variant and as governments begin to consider treating Covid like they do other endemic illnesses.
Swedish Public Health Agency chief Karin Tegmark Wisell told national broadcaster SVT this week: "We have reached a point where the cost and relevance of the testing is no longer justifiable.
"If we were to have extensive testing adapted to everyone who has Covid-19, that would mean half a billion kronor a week (£40.4 million) and two billion a month (£161.5 million).
From Wednesday, only healthcare and elderly care workers and the most vulnerable will be entitled to free PCR testing if they are symptomatic, while the rest of the population will simply be asked to stay home if they show symptoms that could be Covid.
Antigen tests are readily available for purchase in supermarkets and pharmacies, but those results are not reported to health authorities.
Private healthcare providers can also perform tests and offer certificates for international travel, but the cost will not be reimbursed by the state or health insurance.
High vaccination rates in Sweden are creating optimism among health officials and a late 2020 study released on Tuesday showed antibodies present in 85% of samples.
WHO: global Covid-19 case counts decline 17% in latest week
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says coronavirus case counts fell 17% worldwide over the last week compared to the previous week, including a 50% drop in the United States, while deaths globally declined 7%.
The weekly epidemiological report from the UN health agency, released late on Tuesday, shows that the Omicron variant is increasingly dominant - making up nearly 97% of all cases tallied by the international virus-tracking platform known as GISAID.
Just over 3% were of the Delta variant.
"The prevalence of the omicron variant has increased globally and is now detected in almost all countries," WHO said.
"However, many of the countries which reported an early rise in the number of cases due to the omicron variant have now reported a decline in the total number of new cases since the beginning of January 2022."
In all, WHO reported more than 19 million new Covid-19 cases and just under 68,000 new deaths from January 31 to February 6. Experts say the figures are believed to greatly underestimate the real toll.
Case counts fell in each of WHO's six regions except its eastern Mediterranean zone, which reported a 36% jump, notably with increases in Afghanistan, Iran and Jordan.
In Europe, case counts fell 7% - led by substantial declines in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain - even as countries in eastern Europe like Azerbaijan, Belarus and Russia posted increases in daily infections.
In the Americas, case counts fell 36%, with the United States - still the single most-affected country - reporting 1.87 million new cases, down 50% from the previous week.
Denmark's queen and Spain's king test positive for Covid-19
The queen of Denmark and the king of Spain have both tested positive for coronavirus, their respective royal houses announced on Wednesday.
Denmark's Queen Margrethe, 82, has mild Covid-19 symptoms and has isolated herself in the Copenhagen palace where she lives, the palace said.
Margrethe tested positive for the virus on Tuesday evening and cancelled a planned vacation in Norway that was set to begin on Wednesday, the royal household said.
The announcement came weeks after Margrethe marked her 50 years on the throne of Europe's oldest ruling monarchy. Some of the planned festivities were postponed until September due to the pandemic.
However, the queen participated in some jubilee events this month, including a wreath-laying at the grave of her parents at Roskilde Cathedral, where Danish royals have been buried since 1559. She also met with the government and attended a reception at Parliament.
Like Margrethe, Spain's King Felipe VI was vaccinated against coronavirus. The 54-year-old monarch was tested for the virus after he developed "mild symptoms" of Covid-19, the royal house said.
It added that his "overall health" was fine and he will remain in isolation for seven days, following national health protocols. The royal house said that Queen Letizia has not shown any symptoms.
As case counts fall, WHO chief warns 'Covid isn't finished'
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) insisted on Wednesday that "Covid isn't finished with us", appealing for more support to fight the pandemic after his agency reported that case counts and deaths fell worldwide over the past week.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, launching a new 23 billion dollar campaign to fund WHO's efforts to lead a fair rollout of Covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines around the world, cautioned that "diseases know no borders" and the highly transmissible Omicron variant has shown that "any feeling of safety can change in a moment".
WHO's weekly epidemiological report, released late on Tuesday, showed that case counts fell 17% worldwide over the last week, including a 50% decline in the United States, while deaths globally declined 7%.
"Depending on where you live, it might feel like the Covid-19 pandemic is almost over, or, it might feel like it is at its worst," Dr Tedros said. "But wherever you live, Covid isn't finished with us."
"We know this virus will continue to evolve, but we are not defenceless," he added. "We have the tools to prevent this disease, test for it and to treat it."
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