The lockdown in London is to be upgraded from the current Tier One to Tier Two on Saturday, it has been reported.
The level will be upgraded from Medium to High at midnight on Friday - meaning new rules will be in force from Saturday morning.
While it won't mean pubs and gyms have to close, it will mean households are banned from mixing.
London MPs have been told that the alert level is expected to be raised from Tier 1 - the lowest level of lockdown - to Tier 2, which means a ban on meeting people from outside your household indoors, reports The Mirror.
MPs were told by Care Minister Helen Whately that changes would come into effect at 00.01 on Saturday, multiple sources told the Mirror.
The news comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock was due to update the Commons on the latest coronavirus alert levels, with even tougher restrictions expected for Greater Manchester and parts of Lancashire.
The move could be confirmed by Matt Hancock in a statement to parliament at 11.30am today.
That statement could also see Greater Manchester align with other parts of the North West, the North East and the Midlands escalated to Tier Three - where businesses are ordered to close.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has written on Twitter about measures, including an increase in testing capacity, to protect people living in the capital and bring Covid-19 under control.
Alongside a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Mr Khan wrote: “Urgent action is needed to protect Londoners and bring the virus under control in our city…
“Government must provide proper financial help to all businesses and vulnerable Londoners affected by restrictions, as well as local authorities who support them.
“It is essential that no one should be faced with added financial hardship through redundancy or a loss of earnings, and is able to access benefits or crisis support straight away should they need to.
“We also need an immediate increase in testing capacity so that London’s testing rates can increase to the national average.”
