By James Simons-
At least 20 million people brits in England have been plunged into the toughest tier of Covid restrictions from Thursday.
The escalation is said to be because of a higher spread of the strain of the coronavirus in the Uk, which is believed to be more infectious than the first strain.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that people should not “in any way think that this is over” as “the virus is really surging”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs the Midlands, North East, parts of the North West and parts of the South West are among those escalated to tier four.
It follows the further 50,023 new Covid cases were recorded in the UK on Wednesday, as well as 981 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test – more than double Tuesday’s total.
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Under tier four rules, non-essential shops, beauty salons and hairdressers must close, and people are limited to meeting in a public outdoor place with their household, or one other person.
Mr Hancock said that rising cases across England made it necessary to apply tier three measures more broadly too, including in Liverpool and North Yorkshire”.
Households in Tier 3 areas are banned from mixing indoors and in private gardens, while the rule of six applies in public spaces. Shops, gyms and personal care services can remain open, but hospitality settings must close except for takeaway.
All of the tier changes will come into effect at 00:01 GMT on Thursday 31 December.
Boris Johnson told the BBC that 60% of UK coronavirus cases were now the new, more transmissible, strain of Covid-19.
He added: “It’s spreading rapidly from the places where it’s started, in the east of London and in Kent. And, alas, it’s starting to seed across the country.”
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