Matt Hancock: Last News

More than three quarters of England will be in Tier 4 from midnight tonight after a huge surge in coronavirus triggered a national lockdown in all but name.

Boris Johnson will give a Downing Street press conference at 5pm today.

Oxford University and AstraZeneca has been approved for use in the UK, paving the way for rapid rollout, the Department of Health said. Rollout of the jab will start in January 4 next year as the news was hailed as "fantastic" by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

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A French man has tested positive for the new Covid-19 strain after recently travelling from London.

Good Morning Britain 's Dr Sarah Jarvis has admitted she is terrified about the new South African strain of Covid, which could cause more serious illness in younger people.

Latest coronavirus infection data shows cases are rising in 90 per cent of England's towns and cities - after it was announced more areas are being plunged into Tiers 3 and 4.

England cricket stars are facing a nervous wait to hear if they must go into quarantine over Christmas and the New Year - which could potentially put their tour of Sri Lanka in jeopardy.

direct to your inboxA series of changes have been announced to Tier 1, 2, 3 and 4 in England. Health Secretary Matt Hancock lead a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday (December 23) on the coronavirus situation across the UK.

direct to your inboxCheshire and Warrington are to be moved into Tier 3, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced.The new restrictions will come into force at 12.01am on Boxing Day.Cheshire is one of several areas where extra measures have been imposed as the country tries to slow the spread of a mutated strain of the virus.The strain was discovered in part of Cheshire this week, in the Burton area near Tarporley.Speaking at a Downing Street press conference Mr Hancock said: "I know the vast majority of people watching today understand what we need to do together to get through this, so today we are announcing further action on the tiering process."The new measures mean pubs and restaurants in Cheshire will have to close, while

With the rate of new cases of Covid-19 rising in nine out of 10 local authorities across England, some parts of the country might be about to see a change to their alert level.

Around 500,000 people have had the coronavirus vaccine despite the Health Secretary saying he expected millions to get the jab by Christmas.

The new strain of Covid-19 is "out of control" and everyone in Tier 4 should behave as if they have it, Matt Hancock has warned.

direct to your inboxEmergency Tier 4 rules will come into force in areas of England, it has been announced.All current Tier 3 areas in London and South East, will be moved into the new, more restrictive tier, just days after being placed under 'very high' alert.This will be a big blow to millions as it comes just days before the new five-day 'Christmas window' was due to come into force across the UK.It comes after chief medical officer Professor Christ Whitty issued a statement on a new variant of the virus in the UK which is spreading through London, Essex and Kent. He said the UK has informed the World Health Organisation that the new variant coronavirus, which was first mentioned by Matt Hancock on Monday, can spread more rapidly.

Millions will be placed under the toughest Covid-19 rules from today, as changes to tiers kick in.

Bury, the decision from Health Secretary Matt Hancock was met with a mixture of frustration and sense of inevitability.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester will remain in the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced today.During a statement in the House of Commons, Mr Hancock released the details of the latest government review of the tier system in England.There had been hopes that Greater Manchester - or some boroughs - would be moved down to Tier 2, due to a fall in infection rates.But the Health Secretary said many areas in Tier 3 were not 'quite there,' as he announced just three areas in the country would move down.Although cases had been falling across most of Greater Manchester for some weeks, he said that pressures on the NHS still remained.Mr Hancock said: "I know that Tier 3 measures are tough but

coronavirus strain has spread to Scotland, according to the latest data from the Scottish Government. Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that nine cases of the new Covid variant have been identified in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board region.

London looks likely to be moved into a Tier 3 lockdown after the government admitted cases were "off the chart".

Matt Hancock has announced mass testing for secondary schools in worst-affected boroughs in London, Kent and Essex after surge in cases.

London and Essex are among the areas at risk of being bumped up to Tier 3 when the Government reviews England's local lockdown system next week.