The next review of coronavirus tiers will take place on December 30 - with the results expected to be announced on New Year's Eve.
The most recent review, when the Government considered whether to keep the North East in Tier 3 restrictions, took place on December 16.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that the decision had been taken not to make any changes in the North East.
The next review is due to take place two weeks later, on December 30, and Downing Street today confirmed that this will go ahead even though it's in the middle of the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
In the days before the review, officials from the Department for Health and Social Care will hold talks with local public health officials.
The review itself involves Mr Hancock, with the final decisions signed off by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Hancock said it wasn't possible to take many areas out of Tier 3.
He said: "I know that Tier 3 measures are tough. But the best way for everyone to get out of them is to pull together: not just to follow the rules, but do everything they possibly can to stop the spread of the virus.
"Where we’ve seen places get the virus under control and come out of Tier 3, it’s where everyone has taken responsibility on themselves to make that happen.
"We’ve seen case rates fall across large parts of England. And I know that many places in Tier 3 have seen their rates reduce.
"In most places, I have to tell you Mr Speaker, we are not quite there yet."
The small number of changes he announced included Bristol and North Somerset coming out of Tier 3, into Tier 2, on Saturday.
Herefordshire will move out of Tier 2 and into Tier 1.
Tier 3 measures will be introduced across a much wider area of the East and South East of England, including:
- Bedfordshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Berkshire
- Peterborough
- the whole of Hertfordshire
- Surrey – with the exception of Waverley
- Hastings and Rother, on the Kent border of East Sussex
- and Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant in Hampshire
