Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce new coronavirus restrictions for England later today (January 4).
Johnson will address the nation tonight at 8pm after Downing Street said further steps must be taken to address a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The spread of the new variant of the virus has led to rapidly escalating case numbers, a representative for No. 10 said.
“The prime minister is clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives,” a Downing Street spokesperson said (via BBC News). “He will set those out this evening.”
The UK Parliament will be recalled, allowing MPs to vote on any new measures on Wednesday (January 6).
Johnson has said previously that there was “no question” the government would announce stricter measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
While it has yet to be confirmed what the new restrictions will be, millions in England were placed under stay-at-home orders from New Year’s Eve in order to help curb the outbreak.
All of the North East, Greater Manchester and large parts of the Midlands and the South West moved into Tier 4 last Thursday (December 31).
The stay-at-home restrictions meant that non-essential shops would be closed and a strict one-to-one outdoor meeting limit between households would be implemented.
The infection rate in England rose by a third in the week leading up to Christmas Eve, while the number of coronavirus patients admitted to hospital rose by 8% the week before – to 14,915 people.
News of the PM’s address comes after it was announced that a nationwide lockdown will be introduced in Scotland from midnight tonight (January 5) in a bid to halt rising levels of coronavirus infections.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon said that people will be legally permitted to stay at home until the end of January, with schools remaining shut until the beginning of February at minimum.
Sturgeon said that increased transmissions of a new COVID-19 variant, which was first identified in the UK, mean that Tier 4 restrictions may not be sufficient in lowering Scotland’s R number to below 1.
“It is no exaggeration to say that I am more concerned about the situation we face now than I have been at any time since March last year,” she said.
“It is essential that we further limit interaction between different households to stem the spread and bring the situation back under control, while we vaccinate more people,” Sturgeon said.
“In short, we must return for a period to a situation much closer to the lockdown of last March.”
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