The number of coronavirus deaths in the UK has soared to 534 as parts of the country will be plunged into Tier 4 at midnight.
At a press conference this afternoon Prime Minister Boris Johnson devastated millions of people preparing to celebrate Christmas as he announced a strict new lockdown for areas of the South East.
It comes as the country recorded a further 27,052 cases of Covid-19, taking the total number infected since the pandemic began to over two million.
The overall death toll from the virus stands at 67,075. Yesterday there were 489 deaths and 28,507 infections recorded.
The figures were released as Mr Johnson scaled back “Christmas Bubble" plans with a “heavy heart” over concerns about the spread of a new strain of the virus.
He said that from Sunday areas in the South East currently in Tier 3 will be moved into a new Tier 4 - effectively returning to the lockdown rules of November.
Non-essential shops, gyms, cinemas, hairdressers and bowling alleys will be forced to close for two weeks - while people will be restricted to meeting one other person from another household in an outdoor public space.
The rest of England will also see the Christmas "bubble" policy - allowing up to three household to meet up over the holiday period - severely curtailed, applying on Christmas Day only.
The move comes after scientists on the Government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NervTag) concluded that the mutant strain identified by Public Health England - known as VUI2020/01 - was spreading more quickly.
The Prime Minister was advised of the group's conclusions at a meeting with ministers on Friday evening, and the new regulations were signed off by the Cabinet in a conference call on Saturday lunchtime.
The Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has briefed the devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the group's findings.
Under the new "stay at home" order - covering around a third of the population of England - people in Tier 4 will be told they should not stay away from home overnight and people from outside will be advised not to visit Tier 4 areas.
