People living in Southport have been told they should "think again" before leaving their house, by a government minister.
Residents in the PR9 postcode and the other areas where the South African variant has been discovered have been urged to be "extremely vigilant" and to follow the restrictions "to the letter".
Universities Minister Michelle Donelan told Sky News that residents should stick strictly to the rules because the UK is at a "perilous" stage in the pandemic.
Asked if the advice to those in eight postcodes where the cases of the new variant has been foun d with seemingly no travel links was any different to the national measures, she said: "It's not, we're all in a lockdown.
"But the message is 'think again' just before you go about activities, even for those activities that are within the rules such as essential shopping.
"Do you really need to go for that shopping or have you got enough in? Could you work from home? Could you have that conversation with your employer? It's about reinforcing the rules that are in place.
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"We're at that final hurdle, but it's still a very perilous stage of this virus and we've got these new variants spreading, so we do have to be extra vigilant and really abide by those rules to the letter of them, and also contemplate every action and activity that we do."
People living in the PR9 postcode are being urged to get tested as soon as possible, with door to door testing taking place.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock spoke about the issue during a press conference yesterday.
He said: "The stay at home message is there for everyone, but in particular in those areas it is absolutely vital that people minimise all social contact, and get a test when the opportunity arises."
