The government has again insisted it "will not hesitate" to impose further restrictions in England.
It comes as the "concerning" rise in coronavirus cases continue.
Not only has there been a rise in confirmed cases but hospital admissions have also seen a sharp rise, with most of the admissions located in the North West, North East and Yorkshire, it has been reported.
Manchester still has the highest infection rate with latest figures showing that cases are doubling every week.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing on Wednesday afternoon: "We are seeing coronavirus cases rising across the country but they are rising faster in the North East and the North West and that is concerning.
"We will not hesitate to take further action in the areas where cases and hospitalisations are rising significantly in order to protect communities, protect the NHS and to save lives."
Asked why the government was not already taking more action, the spokesman said: "We keep the data under constant review and we continue to receive advice from scientific and medical experts, and should we feel that it is necessary to make further interventions then we will do so."
During the same briefing, the spokesman also rejected suggestion that young should live more freely as they are less 'vulnerable' - while those at greater risk remain protected.
They said: "We have considered the full range of scientific opinion throughout the course of this pandemic and we will continue to do so.
"But what I would also say is that it is not possible to rely on an unproven assumption that it is possible for people who are at lower risk, should they contract the virus to avoid subsequently transmitting it, to those who are at a higher risk and who would therefore subsequently face a greater chance of ending up in hospital or worse in an intensive care unit."
