Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make a televised address tonight as pressure mounts for a third national lockdown in England.
He is expected to outline the next steps to tackle the rise in coronavirus cases.
Parliament is set to be recalled to sit on Wednesday, Downing Street has said.
The Prime Minister has said he would act “in due course” and “will do everything that’s necessary”.
But he was warned not to delay the announcement of new restrictions in England as cases and pressure on the NHS increased.
A No 10 spokesman said that the move was in response to the “rapidly escalating” numbers of infections following the emergence of the new variant.
The statement will be followed by the recall of Parliament on Wednesday so MPs can debate the measures.
A No 10 spokesman said: “The spread of the new variant of Covid-19 has led to rapidly escalating case numbers across the country.
“The Prime Minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives.”
Responding to the announcement of the Prime Minister’s statement and the recall of Parliament, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “I hope the Prime Minister has been listening to the clear calls for tough national restrictions.”
He told the PA news agency new measures were needed to “get the virus under control, protect the NHS and create the space for the vaccine to be rolled out as quickly as humanly possible”.
Nicola Sturgeon has today told Scottish Parliament that Scotland will enter a national lockdown from midnight tonight (January 4).
The rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – which is easier to distribute than the other approved jab from Pfizer/BioNTech – was administered for the first time this morning.
It could provide a route out of further lockdowns, but it could be months before sufficient numbers have received their first shot.
Mr Johnson is expected to make the address at 8pm tonight.
