Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the Government after new lockdown restrictions were imposed across parts of the North of England.
He tweeted: "No one would argue with putting in place local action to reduce the transmission of coronavirus.
"But announcing measures affecting potentially millions of people late at night on Twitter is a new low for the Government's communications during this crisis.
"When the Government ended the daily press conferences, they said they would hold them for "significant announcements", including local lockdowns. It's hard to imagine what could be more significant than this.
"For all the bluster, Government has failed to deliver a functioning track and trace system that would spot local flare ups like these.
"The people of Greater Manchester now need urgent clarity and explanation from the Government - and there must be proper support for those businesses and people affected by any lockdown."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed just after 9pm on Thursday that people from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire will be banned from meeting each other indoors from midnight.
Mr Hancock said "households gathering and not abiding by the social distancing rules" was a reason for the stricter rules and it was in order to "keep the country safe".
It comes after the first local lockdown was implemented on June 29 in Leicester following a spike of Covid-19 infections in the city.
Mr Hancock previously said a range of targeted interventions in Leicester had failed in the days prior to the decision to lock the city down for several weeks.
The new measures in the north of England come amid fears of rising rates of the virus in the UK and the possibility of a second wave.
Government data showed the seven-day average of new cases in the UK had increased to just over 700 compared to around 550 in the second week of July.
However, the figure remained far lower than at the start of May when the average was close to 5,000.
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, previously said that the combination of a spike of cases with "exhausted staff" while the NHS tries to rebuild services could prove "challenging".
