Millions of people in the east and south-east of England will face the toughest Covid-19 rules from Saturday, the health secretary has said.
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire will be subject to tier three rules, as will parts of Surrey, East Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Hampshire.
Swathes of the country already in tier three will remain there.
Matt Hancock told MPs: "We've come so far, we mustn't blow it now."
Bristol and North Somerset will move from tier three to tier two, and Herefordshire will move from tier two into tier one.
The changes come into effect at 00:01 on Saturday.
They mean that 68% of England's population - 38 million people - will be living in tier three from the weekend.
Some 30% of the population will be in tier two, while just 2% will be in tier one.
Announcing the outcome of the first formal review of the new tiering system in England, Mr Hancock said "no-one wants tougher restrictions any longer than necessary".
However, he said "these are always the most difficult months for people's health" and we "must keep suppressing this virus".
He said cases have risen by 46% in the past week in the south-east of England and up by two-thirds in the east of England.
He added the restrictions are "thankfully not the only tool we have to fight the disease" and that Education Secretary Gavin Williamson will "set out further detail on testing in schools" later.
It is expected to be announced later that the return to school in January will be staggered for secondary pupils in England, with some starting term online rather than in class.
Secondary school age children have among the highest infection rates.
Which areas are changing tiers?
The health secretary said from 00:01 Saturday 19 December:
- Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Peterborough, the whole of Hertfordshire, Surrey (except Waverley), Hastings and Rother, Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant will move into tier three.
- Bristol and North Somerset will be moved down to tier two.
- Herefordshire will move from tier two to tier one.
Some 34 million people have already been living under tier three rules.
London, most of Essex and parts of Hertfordshire were placed under the strictest curbs on social contacts on Wednesday.
They joined much of the Midlands, north-west England and north-east England.
Andrew Gwynne, Labour MP for Denton and Reddish, tweeted that keeping Greater Manchester in tier three "is yet another blow for our hospitality".
"It seems we are trapped in this system arbitrarily which was always my worry - and despite our cases dropping, we are now being held back because of the utter mess government has made of its Christmas relaxation rules," he said.
Earlier, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham suggested that ministers could "overcompensate" for relaxing the rules over Christmas.
Leaders in areas moving into tier three expressed their concerns.
Stephen McPartland, Conservative MP for Stevenage, tweeted that it was "ridiculous" the town is "being dragged into" tier three
Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth City Council, said the decision to introduce the toughest measures there was "bizarre".
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiJmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLTU1MzUwMDg10gEqaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL3VrLTU1MzUwMDg1?oc=5
2020-12-17 13:22:00Z
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