MATT Hancock will reveal which areas face tougher restrictions TOMORROW afternoon.
The Health Secretary will make a statement to the House of Commons as fresh coronavirus cases have spiralled out of control.
Millions of Brits face being plunged into Tier 4 as top scientists warned January would spell “catastrophe”.
Mr Hancock is expected to address MPs at around 3pm tomorrow.
Yesterday, there were 41, 385 new infections – an all time high, with 357 deaths.
The Government is grappling with how to safely get schools open next week, with only primary school kids and Year 11 and 13 students set to go back next week.
But Professor Andrew Hayward, who sits on the Government’s Nervtag group, warned the country was looking at a disaster as fresh infections continued to rocket out of control.
He said the reopening of schools would see the need for “increased, strict restrictions” in other areas of society “to pay for that”.
The new Covid strain has driven daily Covid cases over the 40,000 mark for the first time in the pandemic.
Prof Hayward, professor of infectious diseases epidemiology at University College London, said widespread Tier 4 restrictions – or even higher – are likely to be needed as the country moves towards “near-lockdown”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think we are entering a very dangerous new phase of the pandemic and we’re going to need decisive, early, national action to prevent a catastrophe in January and February.
“A 50 per cent increase in transmissibility means that the previous levels of restrictions that worked before won’t work now, and so Tier 4 restrictions are likely to be necessary or even higher than that.
“I think we’re really looking at a situation where we’re moving into near-lockdown, but we’ve got to learn the lessons from the first lockdown.”
