More than 75 per cent of England will be in the top tier of coronavirus restrictions from midnight after Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced a large number of areas would move up into Tier 4. This is part of an attempt to contain the spread of the new variant of Covid-19, as hospitals come under what Hancock described as ‘significant pressure’ to treat surging numbers of patients with the virus.
Hancock was speaking on what he described as a day of ‘mixed emotions’, and he was naturally keen to emphasise the difference that the approval of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine would make to the length of time people will be subject to these restrictions. He told MPs: ‘It brings forward the day on which we can lift the restrictions that no one in this house wants to see.’ That this reassurance was necessary was underlined by the number of Tory MPs who asked for more clarity on how soon restrictions could end.
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