Greater Manchester will remain in Tier 3 following the government's latest announcement.
Matt Hancock announced on Thursday that the "vast majority" of places in Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions will not be changed following the first review since the restrictions were re-implemented earlier this month.
Following a drop in cases, Greater Manchester leaders felt there was a "clear case" for the region to be placed under Tier 2 restrictions - the 'high alert' level.
Instead, millions of people will continue to follow the toughest restrictions - except for during the brief relaxation of measures for Christmas from December 23 to 27.
Only Bristol and North Somerset were downgraded to Tier 2 while Herefordshire joins the select few areas in Tier 1.
The Department for Health and Social Care confirmed that the next review will be in two weeks, taking us to the end of December 30.
The tier allocations will again depend on coronavirus infections rates with the possibility of a third national lockdown not ruled out by Downing Street.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said on Thursday: "We've been clear of the rationale behind the tiered regional approach and that’s what we've set out for the time.
"That is designed to reduce the rate of transmission and reduce the R rate in areas of high prevalence.
"As we've said throughout we will obviously keep the latest data and the latest trends under review."
