Covid: Millions more in Tier 4 as country told to stay home for New Year's Eve
Video report by ITV News Reporter Helen Keenan
More than three-quarters of England's population is being told to stay at home to stop the spread of coronavirus, as large swathes of the country were put into Tier 4 restrictions overnight.
Around 22 million people in parts of the Midlands, the North East, parts of the North West and South West of England entered the toughest tier at midnight.
This means three quarters of England - or 44 million people - are now in Tier 4, or 78% of the population of England.
It comes as health officials pleaded with Britons to stay at home for New Year's Eve to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Areas which will be covered by the Tier 4 rules from December 31 are:
Birmingham and Black Country
Bournemouth
Cheshire and Warrington
Coventry
Cumbria
Derby and Derbyshire
Greater Manchester
Gloucestershire
Isle of Wight
Lancashire
Leicester City
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
New Forest
Northamptonshire
North East
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
Somerset
Solihull
Swindon
Tees Valley
Warwickshire
Areas which will be covered by the Tier 3 rules from tomorrow are:
Bath and North East Somerset
Cornwall
Devon, Plymouth, Torbay
Dorset
Herefordshire
Liverpool City Region
Rutland
Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
York and North Yorkshire
Addressing MPs in the Commons, the health secretary Matt Hancock said: "The NHS is under very significant pressure... and we can see the impact this is happening, the threat to life is real."
He added: "The new variant means that three quarters of the population are now going to be in Tier 4 and almost all of the country in Tiers 3 and 4."
Watch the announcement in full:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK must redouble its efforts to fight coronavirus, and that “no-one regrets these measures more bitterly than I do” but insisted that “firm” action was needed to control the pandemic.
The reopening of secondary schools in England will be delayed, and in some of the areas hardest hit by Covid-19 primary school pupils will also not return to their desks as planned next week.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said students in exam years will return to secondary schools a week later than intended, from January 11, while other secondary and college students will go back full-time on January 18.
Primary schools in 50 areas within London, Essex, Kent, East Sussex, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire will not reopen for face-to-face teaching to all pupils as planned next week.
However, children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters will still be able to attend lessons in primary and secondary schools.
Universities are being asked to reduce the number of students returning to campus from the beginning of next month, and those that do return should be offered two rapid coronavirus tests.
It came as another 981 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, the highest daily figure reported since April 24, though there is likely to be a lag in reporting deaths over the Christmas period.
And a further 50,023 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK were recorded as of 9am on Wednesday.
According to the Department of Health, between December 18 and 24, the weekly Covid-19 case rate in England rose to 402.6 per 100,000, a 32% increase on the previous week.
Some 14,915 patients have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in the past week, an 18% increase on the week before.
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned that the NHS will “struggle to get patients in urgent need of care, the care they need” if the trajectory of rising infections continues.
The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday evening that the new strain of coronavirus was “spreading much faster and surging across the country” and that immediate action was needed.
But he said the Government was “working as hard and as fast as we can” to get supplies of the newly-approved vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca to people.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gave the jab the green light on Wednesday morning and 530,000 of doses are expected to be available for rollout from Monday.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford University vaccine, enough to vaccinate 50 million people.
The plan is to vaccinate all vulnerable groups first, with all adults eventually offered the jab.
All parts of the UK will receive the jab from Monday, with devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland saying they were ready to receive their allocation.
Labour has called for a target of two million vaccinations a week initially, before that is increased further in the hope that restrictions can be eased before Easter.
Meanwhile, people planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve were warned they must leave the parties for later next year as “Covid loves a crowd”.
Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said staying at home and seeing in 2021 “within the rules” will reduce infections and relieve pressure on hospitals.
He told the Downing Street briefing: “We can all play a part in fighting this terrible virus: stay at home, mark the New Year with just nearest and dearest within the rules.
“This action will reduce infections, relieve pressures on hospitals, and that’s how everybody can help to save a life.
“Covid loves a crowd, so please leave the parties for later in the year.”
What are the main rules if I'm in a Tier 4 area?
People must stay at home, similar to the March and November lockdowns, except for where you have a specific purpose, or a "reasonable excuse", such as buying food or medicine or to collect any items from a click-and-collect service.
People in Tier 4 must stay in their area, except for work, education or visiting a support or childcare bubble. Residents in Tier 4 must not stay overnight away from home.
All non-essential shops, hairdressers, sports facilities and leisure and entertainment venues must close.
You can leave home to visit people in your support bubble or to provide childcare for children aged 13 and under as part of a childcare bubble.
You can meet one other person from another household in a public, outdoor space.
People can also go outdoors for unlimited exercise.