The new three-tier system of Covid-19 restrictions has begun in England.
Most of the country is in the lowest tier – medium – but millions of people in the North and the Midlands face extra curbs on households mixing.
The Liverpool region is the only area to be under the toughest rules, with pubs and bars not serving meals closed.
Government health officials are due to meet later to discuss the possibility of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and some other areas joining the top tier.
Hours before the top tier rules came into force in Liverpool, police were forced to disperse large crowds in the city.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is set to extend the half-term holidays for schools, from Monday, alongside other new measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.
And in Wales a short circuit breaker lockdown is being “actively considered” by the government.
The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, tweeted that he had not spoken with the government about new restrictions since Friday, claiming pressure was being “piled on via media briefings”.
He said he would set out, later today, “why the current Tier 3 [top tier] proposal is fundamentally flawed and why we won’t accept it”.
It comes after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for a two to three-week “circuit-breaker” lockdown in England to bring the infection rate under control.
Source: BBC
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