Large areas of the south of England including London will now be plunged into Tier three coronavirus restrictions following an announcement from the government.
It comes after several regions have seen a “very sharp, exponential rises” in cases, said Matt Hancock in his speech to the House of Commons on Monday.
Experts also revealed they have identified a new variant of Covid-19 which the Health Secretary says may be behind the "faster spread" of the disease in the South East.
The tier restrictions were meant to be reviewed on Thursday, however this was brought forward by the government due to the spiralling number of new infections.
The tougher measures - currently the highest level of restrictions in England - are being imposed in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19 after the spike in infections in and around the capital.
When will the new restrictions come into force?
The restrictions will come into force from 00.01 on the morning of Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
The areas which will now be in Tier 3
The following boroughs will now be subject to Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions.
All of Greater London
- City of London
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kingston upon Thames
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond upon Thames
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
Essex
- Basildon
- Brentwood
- Harlow
- Epping Forest
- Castle Point
- Rochford
- Maldon
- Braintree
- Chelmsford
- Thurrock
- Southend-On-Sea
Hertfordshire
- Broxbourne
- Hertsmere
- Watford
- Three Rivers
What does this mean?
This is the toughest level of measures - which means there will be a ban on people meeting both indoors and outdoors unless they are from the same household or bubble.
The rule of six will still apply in a number of limited public places such as parks and beaches - the same as applies to Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Kent.
Pubs, bars and restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway services, hotels will need to close, as will indoor entertainment venues.
But schools, non-essential shops and workplaces will remain open - however people will be advised to work from home where possible.
Some councils have already closed schools and moved to remote learning in the final week of term.
Matt Hancock told the Commons on Monday: “This means that people can only see friends and family they don’t live with or are in a support bubble with in outdoor public places and of course in line with the rule of six.
“Hospitality settings must close except takeaway and delivery and people should avoid travelling outside their area and reduce the number of journeys they make wherever possible.”
He emphasised that travel should be minimised both to and within Tier three areas in a bid to slow down the spread of the virus.
When will it be reviewed?
The next review of the tier allocations will be on December 23 - a week sooner than the current two week period currently committed to by the Government.
