Bristol and North Somerset are among areas which will move into coronavirus Tier 3 on Boxing Day.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced at today's (December 23) Downing Street press conference the areas will enter the second strictest tier at 12.01am on December 26.
Other areas moving into Tier 3 are Gloucestershire, all of Somerset, Swindon, the Isle of Wight, the New Forest, Northamptonshire, Cheshire and Warrington.
It comes after Bristol and North Somerset moved from Tier 3 to 2 on Saturday (December 19).
Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy said: "We didn’t ask to be moved into Tier 2 and this is, sadly, I think the right move. We have to hope this will stop us having to go into Tier 4."
It comes as the new variant of coronavirus spreads across the country. The Government says it could be 71 per cent more infectious.
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Mr Hancock says cases across the country have risen by 75 per cent over the past week and hospital admissions are at 1,909 a day, the highest figure since mid-April.
“Just as we have got a tiered system in place, we have discovered a new more contagious virus, a variant which is spreading at a dangerous rate," Mr Hancock added.
The rules in Tiers 3 and 2 can be seen here.
You can see updates from the live announcement here.
