Most of England banned from household mixing for months under Boris Johnson's new tiered coronavirus restrictions

• Most of England will be banned from household mixing and visiting pubs and restaurants with friends under the UK government's toughened up 3-tier system.
• It comes as England prepares to exit from a second national lockdown next week.
• Official figures show that the infection rate of England has fallen significantly under England's national lockdown, but the number of coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday reached 608, its highest level since May. 
• English residents can search their postcode to see which tier of restrictions apply to them.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Most of England will be banned from meeting with other households, potentially until the spring, after Boris Johnson announced a toughened up 3-tier system of restrictions once the country exits from its second national lockdown.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that most of the country, including London and Liverpool, will be placed under tier 2 restriction, meaning people will only be allowed to interact indoors with members of their household. Pubs and restaurants will remain open but venues will only be permitted to serve alcohol as part of a "substantial" meal.

The new restrictions, which represent a stricter version of the previous tier system, will come into place on December 2 when the UK exits from a second national lockdown.

People will be allowed to meet in groups of up to 6 in parks and other outdoor public spaces in tier 2.

However, local authorities in England where coronavirus infection rates remain highest, including Manchester, Hull, Newcastle, Birmingham, Wolverhampton will be placed under the strictest tier 3 restrictions, meaning that pubs and restaurants will be shut and household mixing indoors or outdoors in private homes and hospitality venues will be banned.

Small parts of England, including Cornwall, where infection rates are lowest will be placed under tier 1 restrictions, where people will be allowed to meet in public or private in groups of up to 6.

Which tier is my area in?

North West

Greater Manchester — Tier 3

Lancashire, Blackpool, and Blackburn with Darwen — Tier 2

Liverpool City Region — Tier 2

Warrington and Cheshire — Tier 2

Cumbria — Tier 2

North East

Tees Valley (LA5) — Tier 3

North East 7 (LA7) — Tier 3

Yorkshire & The Humber

The Humber — Tier 3

West Yorkshire — Tier 3

South Yorkshire — Tier 3

York and North Yorkshire — Tier 2

East Midlands

Leicester and Leicestershire — Tier 3

Derby and Derbyshire — Tier 3

Lincolnshire — Tier 3

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire — Tier 3

Northamptonshire — Tier 2

Rutland — Tier 2

West Midlands

Birmingham and Black Country — Tier 3

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent — Tier 3

Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull — Tier 3

Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin — Tier 2

Herefordshire — Tier 2

Worcestershire — Tier 2

London — Tier 2

East of England

Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes — Tier 2

Essex, Thurrock and Southend on Sea — Tier 2

Norfolk — Tier 2

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough — Tier 2

Hertfordshire — Tier 2

Suffolk — Tier 2

South East

Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton — Tier 2

Isle of Wight — Tier 1

East and West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove — Tier 2

Surrey — Tier 2

Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead, West Berkshire — Tier 2

Slough — Tier 3

Buckinghamshire — Tier 2

Oxfordshire — Tier 2

Kent & Medway — Tier 3

South West

Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset — Tier 3

Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset — Tier 2

Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole — Tier 2

Gloucestershire — Tier 2

Wiltshire and Swindon — Tier 2

Devon — Tier 2

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly — Tier 1

Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Matt Hancock said the national lockdown had "successfully turned the curve" and begun to ease pressure on the NHS, with hospital admissions having fallen by 7% in the last week.

Hancock added: "As tempting as it may be, we cannot simply flick a switch and try to return life to normal. Because if we did this we would undo the hard work of so many and see the NHS overwhelmed with all that would entail. We must keep suppressing the virus."

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he "welcomed" the government's decision to place London in tier 2, but criticised the government's decision to extend the curfew for pubs and restaurants from 10pm to 11pm rather than scrapping it. 

"I am extremely disappointed that the Government is sticking with specific measures that seem to cause more harm than good," Khan said in a statement.

"I am pleased we persuaded the Government to get rid of the 10pm curfew but extending it to 11pm, when it should be scrapped altogether, is a mistake. It is a real blow to pubs, bars and restaurants which have endured such a difficult year and deserve better."

Official figures show that the infection rate of England has fallen significantly under England's national lockdown, but the number of coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday reached 608, its highest level since May. 

The decisions on which tier local authorities in England will be placed into were taken at a meeting between Boris Johnson, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, other ministers, and health officials on Wednesday evening.

All local authorities will be placed under one of the three tiers, which can be searched online, and the decision will be reviewed every two weeks starting from December 16.

Authorities will be placed into specific tiers based on a number of criteria, with each decision being based on factors including how quickly infection rates are rising or falling, and the capacity of local hospitals.

You can search for the restrictions for your area of England here.