Tier 3 restrictions are set to be extended across a wide area of East and South East England.
Matt Hancock said case rates in the south of England are up 46% in the last week while hospital admissions are up by more than a third, adding in the east of England cases are up two thirds and hospital admissions up by nearly half in the last week.
Making a statement in the Commons, Mr Hancock said the UK has “come so far” and “mustn’t blow it now”.
From 00:01 on Saturday, December 19 - these areas will move into Tier 3:
Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Berkshire
Peterborough
The whole of Hertfordshire
Surrey, execpt Waverley
Hastings and Rother
Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant
Bristol and North Somerset will move from Tier 3 to Tier 2.
Mr Hancock told MPs: “As we enter the coldest months we must be vigilant and keep this virus under control.
“Yesterday 25,161 cases were reported and there are 18,038 people in hospital with coronavirus in the UK. We must keep suppressing this virus.
“And this isn’t just a matter for Government or for this House, it is a matter for every single person and these are always the most difficult months for people’s health and for the NHS.
“And especially with the vaccine already here, we must be cautious as we accelerate the vaccine deployment as per The Winter Plan.
“We’ve come so far, we mustn’t blow it now.”
