Six million more people in England are to live under Tier 4 COVID-19 restrictions after the UK government said case numbers were rising at a “dangerous rate”.
COVID-19 admissions in hospitals have reached the highest level since April, at the height of the first wave of the pandemic.
The Tier 4 restrictions from Dec 26, 2020 will include Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, all of Essex, Waverley in Surrey and Hampshire, with the exception of the New Forest.
The Tier 4 rules mean people must stay at home unless they are at work or in education. They can meet one other person in an open public space and all non-essential shops must close. People should not enter or leave a Tier 4 area.
George Alagiah presents BBC News at Ten reporting by political correspondent Laila Nathoo.
