Millions more people are facing tighter restrictions after the government announced an extension of Tier 4 rules in England in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced the changes to MPs on Wednesday, saying that, although they will "place (a) significant burden on people...I'm afraid it's absolutely necessary".
He added: "Sharply rising cases and the hospitalisations that follow demonstrate the need to act where the virus is spreading."
The changes will move an additional 20 million people into Tier 4, meaning a total of 44 million people (78% of England's population) will be in that toughest tier.
Areas that will be covered by the Tier 4 rules from tomorrow are:
- Leicester City
- Leicestershire - Oadby and Wigston, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton
- Lincolnshire - City of Lincoln, Boston, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Holland, East Lindsey
- Northamptonshire - Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough
- Derby and Derbyshire - Derby, Amber Valley, South Derbyshire, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak
- Nottingham and Nottinghamshire - Gedling, Ashfield, Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe
- Birmingham and Black Country - Dudley, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton
- Coventry
- Solihull
- Warwickshire - Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwick, North Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon
- Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent - East Staffordshire, Stafford, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent
- Lancashire - Burnley, Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Blackpool, Preston, Hyndburn, Chorley, Fylde, Lancaster, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre
- Cheshire and Warrington - Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington
- Cumbria - Eden, Carlisle, South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness, Copeland, Allerdale
- Greater Manchester - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan
- Tees Valley - Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees
- North East - County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland
- Gloucestershire - Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cheltenham
- Somerset council - Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset
- Swindon
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Isle of Wight
- New Forest
Also, The following areas will move to Tier 3 at the same time:
- Rutland
- Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
- Worcestershire (Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest)
- Herefordshire
- Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens)
- York & North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Selby, Craven, Ryedale, Harrogate, City of York)
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Devon, Plymouth, Torbay (East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Plymouth, Torbay)
- Cornwall
- Dorset
- Wiltshire
The changes were made as part of the first review since a number of other areas were moved into Tier 4 on Boxing Day.
They come after the number of daily positive cases reached a record high of 53,135 on Tuesday.
Also on Wednesday, the government announced that a second COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use and can be distributed from 4 January.
Mr Hancock said the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine "is our way out of the pandemic".
Earlier, he told Sky News: "It's very good news for accelerating the vaccine rollout. It brings forward the day we can get our lives back to normal.
"I am now, with this approval this morning, highly confident that we can get enough vulnerable people vaccinated by the spring that we can now see the route out of this pandemic."
