The Pacific Island of Tonga has become the first country to mark the start of 2021, with millions around the world celebrating the New Year at home because of COVID-19.
The education secretary has told Sky News he is "absolutely confident" that secondary schools will be able to carry out mass testing with an extra week to prepare.
People planning to celebrate the end of 2020 have been warned to avoid parties because "COVID loves a crowd" amid warnings of extra policing to stop mass gatherings.
A further 20 million people are under tighter restrictions after the government announced an extension of Tier 4 rules in England in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The new highly infectious variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the UK has now been detected in southern California, according to the state's governor.
