The Department for Infrastructure says that short-term loss of power and other services is possible.
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Coronavirus: Boris Johnson considering lockdown for England as early as next week Sky NewsView Full coverage on Google News
The prime minister is considering a month-long lockdown across England in the hope that measures could be eased before Christmas. A new "stay at home" order could be announced on Monday, with schools, colleges and universities exempt. One of the models suggests deaths could reach more than 4,000 a day. So, when will it all be over? And how are restrictions changing around the UK?
Coronavirus means Halloween will be very different across the UK this year.
Here's our guide to what you can and can't do and where you can do it - much depends on where you live.
Trick-or-treating is off-limits to anyone living under Tier 3 restrictions, which limit meetings in outdoor private spaces, including front gardens.
If you're in a Tier 1 area, you can trick-or-treat under the rule of six, meaning if you go and knock on someone's door, you can't go in if there are more than six people.
Under Tier 2, you can't socialise inside somebody's home, so you'd have to stand outside in order to trick-or-treat.
The prime minister's official spokesman this week urged people to use their common sense.
Northern Ireland is in a four-week national lockdown, so indoor parties are out.
Apple-bobbing is also banned, according to Dr Gerry Waldron, head of health protection at the Public Health Agency (PHA).
He said: "We do not advise the tradition of bobbing for apples this year or going outside to trick-or-treat within the community. These are not safe practices this year (because) they increase the risk.
"Sharing of food and sweets can also spread the COVID-19 virus. Face-to-face interactions with older and vulnerable neighbours could put them at risk."
The official advice is to only celebrate with members of your own household this year, as households have been banned from mixing with a new set of guidelines set to be introduced on Monday.
There are additional measures in the central belt of Scotland, including the closure of pubs and restaurants.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney urged people to avoid activities "that make the spread of the virus more likely".
Guising, a Scottish form of trick-or-treating, in which children have to recite a song, poem or joke before being rewarded, falls into that category, he said.
"Going door to door, passing sweets, touching items others have touched, all of that gives the opportunity for COVID to spread.
"So this Halloween our advice is you should stay at home... Don't take risks for the sake of one night, it is really not worth it."
Coming in the middle of a 17-day lockdown, Halloween will look very different in Wales this year.
Meeting people from other households, either indoors or outdoors, is not allowed. So, no parties and no trick-or-treating.
People are only allowed to leave their homes for limited reasons, including for exercise, to obtain essential supplies, to provide care or medicine and to attend schools that reopen after half-term.
A government spokesman said: "We are asking people to stay home during the firebreak period to slow the spread of coronavirus and help save lives".
Public Health Wales has asked people to "not take part in traditional trick-or-treating which can put yourself and others at risk and breaches current guidelines which could incur a fine".
Pumpkin picking is still on this year, provided social distancing is maintained.
Pubs may be open, depending on the area you live in, and while some of the big annual Halloween events have been cancelled, including the annual Paisley Halloween Festival, many will go ahead - but with COVID-secure measures in place.
Homeowners can help make trick-or-treating safer by leaving sweets on the doorstep and children by avoiding the homes of the elderly or unwell.
There is widespread acceptance that apple-bobbing is a bad idea during the pandemic wherever you live.
Three men had to be rescued by firefighters after they got stuck in a tumble dryer in Essex, the fire service has said.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were called to a derelict laundry site in Bower Hill, Epping at 6.35pm on Friday.
They found the three young men, all believed to be in their late teens, stuck in the industrial-sized dryer.
While two of them had successfully climbed in, the third had got his ankles trapped in the door, the force said.
The fire service had to call out Essex Police, the helicopter medical emergency service (HEMS) and the ambulance service's hazardous area response team to help free the young men.
They used a range of heavy equipment and removed the dryer door so the third man could free himself.
All three were given pain relief and left in the care of paramedics, the fire service said.
Watch manager Glenn Jackson said in a statement: "It was a difficult site to access and we had to carry a lot of heavy equipment a large distance from the appliances to the tumble dryer and then use our expertise to free the men safely.
"We used a range of equipment to free the casualty's ankles and allow him to crawl into the tumble dryer.
"The HEMS team gave him pain relief and we then managed to move the door, again using a range of equipment, so the men could crawl out."
The prime minister is considering new national lockdown restrictions, which could be imposed in England as early as next week.
Whitehall sources confirmed Boris Johnson met his most senior cabinet colleagues on Friday to discuss the possible toughening of restrictions in light of worsening coronavirus infection rates and hospital admission data.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove were all understood to be present at the discussion of what measures could be taken.
The potential shift in approach comes after a week in which Downing Street had insisted the tiered regional framework remained the right one, despite a "fire breaker" lockdown being imposed in Wales and France and Germany both shifting from regional to national restrictions in light of rising cases.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had said "we are confident we've got the right measures in place - which is not to have a blanket approach".
Number 10 has yet to issue a response to the reports that the prime minister could hold a news conference on Monday, or that further restrictions are imminent.
A senior government source quoted in The Times newspaper said no final decision had been made but added: "The data is really bad.
"We're seeing COVID-19 rising all over the country and hospitals are struggling to cope. There has been a shift in our position."
Sky News deputy political editor Sam Coates said late on Friday that other cabinet ministers were not made aware of the alleged U-turn.
He said many are "angry" after finding out from media reports and not an official briefing.
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "We are in a deeply serious situation with coronavirus spreading with ferocity.
"Boris Johnson should have used the school half-term for a time limited circuit break to push infections down, fix Test and Trace, and save lives.
"It's urgent Boris Johnson outlines the action he will now take to bring the virus under control and deliver on his promise to get the R (reproduction) number below 1 quickly."
On Friday, newly-released documents from the government's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M-O) revealed England has breached its "reasonable worst-case" scenario for COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions.
The scientists also warned that the number of daily coronavirus deaths in England is in line with that scenario, but "is almost certain to exceed this within the next two weeks".
It came after 24,405 new positive cases were confirmed on Friday and a further 274 virus-related deaths reported.
England's R number has decreased slightly, from a maximum of 1.4 to a maximum of 1.3 - but this still means the epidemic is growing rapidly, new government figures warn.
The prime minister is considering new national lockdown restrictions, which could be imposed in England as early as next week.
Whitehall sources confirmed Boris Johnson met his most senior cabinet colleagues on Friday to discuss the possible toughening of restrictions in light of worsening coronavirus infection rates and hospital admission data.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove were all understood to be present at the discussion of what measures could be taken.
The potential shift in approach comes after a week in which Downing Street had insisted the tiered regional framework remained the right one, despite a "fire breaker" lockdown being imposed in Wales and France and Germany both shifting from regional to national restrictions in light of rising cases.
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had said "we are confident we've got the right measures in place - which is not to have a blanket approach".
Number 10 has yet to issue a response to the reports that the prime minister could hold a news conference on Monday, or that further restrictions are imminent.
A senior government source quoted in The Times newspaper said no final decision had been made but added: "The data is really bad.
"We're seeing COVID-19 rising all over the country and hospitals are struggling to cope. There has been a shift in our position."
Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "We are in a deeply serious situation with coronavirus spreading with ferocity.
"Boris Johnson should have used the school half-term for a time limited circuit break to push infections down, fix Test and Trace, and save lives.
"It's urgent Boris Johnson outlines the action he will now take to bring the virus under control and deliver on his promise to get the R (reproduction) number below 1 quickly."
On Friday, newly-released documents from the government's Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M-O) revealed England has breached its "reasonable worst-case" scenario for COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions.
The scientists also warned that the number of daily coronavirus deaths in England is in line with that scenario, but "is almost certain to exceed this within the next two weeks".
It came after 24,405 new positive cases were confirmed on Friday and a further 274 virus-related deaths reported.
England's R number has decreased slightly, from a maximum of 1.4 to a maximum of 1.3 - but this still means the epidemic is growing rapidly, new government figures warn.
