After placing London, parts of Kent and Hertfordshire into Level 3 of the tier system on the 14th of December today the Health Secretary announced the rest of the amendments to the tier system.

Stating that:

“No one wants tougher restrictions any longer than necessary, but where they are necessary we must put them in place to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed and to protect life.”

Bedfordshire; Buckinghamshire; Berkshire; Peterborough; Hertfordshire; Surrey - except for Waverley; Hastings and Rother; Portsmouth; Gosport; and Havant will move into the toughest tier, tier three, as of midnight on Saturday.

Bristol and North Somerset have been downgraded to Tier two allowing hospitality to reopen with restrictions in place.

Herefordshire is also being downgraded from Tier Two into Tier One.

All other areas of the country remain unchanged.