A government minister has said he is "confident" the UK can avoid another national lockdown.
More than three-quarters of England's population is being ordered to stay at home to stop the spread of coronavirus as swathes of the country were plunged into Tier 4 restrictions overnight.
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Another 22 million people in parts of the North East, North West, South West and Midlands were placed under lockdown measures at 00.01 on Thursday in a bid to control infections.
It means a total of 44 million people, or 78% of the population of England, are now in Tier 4, where non-essential shops, as well as gyms, cinemas, casinos and hairdressers, have to stay shut.
People are also limited to meeting one other person from another household in an outdoor public space, and must not leave their Tier 4 area except for legally permitted reasons such as medical appointments.
However, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said he is "confident" the country will not move into another national lockdown.
He told Sky News: "We're taking the absolute right approach to pursue the tiering system.
"It's really important that areas have the opportunity to move down the tiering system as well as having to sometimes move areas up the tiering system.
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"We recognise there are impositions that this has on everyone's lives but it is the right approach, it's the proper approach.
"This is a robust approach, so I'm confident that we won't be moving into a national lockdown situation because the tiering structure is the right place to be."
