As he brings his opening speech to a close, the prime minister tries to strike a note of optimism.

He sets out how the UK is backing seven potential jabs, including the Oxford vaccine that is seeking approval from regulators.

In total, he says, the vaccines taskforce has secured 350 million doses for the UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.

"I say to the House again, let us follow the guidance, let us roll out mass testing, let's work to deliver mass testing to the people of our country and let's work together to defeat the virus," he says.

Boris Johnson now attacks Labour and accuses them of not coming up with "any credible plan" and for deciding to abstain in today's vote.

"When the history of this pandemic comes to be written the people of this country will observe that instead of countries coming together in the national interest they will see one party taking the decisions and the other heroically deciding to abstain," he says.

Asked by Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey if he will guarantee Covid-19 tests for all people considering visits to relatives at Christmas, the prime minister says screening is currently offered to those with symptoms.

"I would urge people, that are worried that they may need to be in the company of those who are elderly or vulnerable, to seek to get a rapid turnaround test," Johnson said.

And he went on to encourage local leaders in tier three areas to support efforts to conduct what he described as "mass community testing".

• How to get a Covid test

"There is an end in sight," to the coronavirus pandemic Boris Johnson tells MPs.

He insists he is "not seeking open ended measures" and adds that restrictions can only be extended beyond 2 February if MPs vote for them.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Away from the debate between MPs about the restrictions that could come in on Wednesday, there is progress on the the vaccines which could help the globe exit the pandemic.

Medical regulators in the US, the UK and the rest of Europe are weighing the merits of several Covid vaccines to see if any or all are safe and effective enough to recommend to the masses.

Which jab will be first – Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna or AstraZeneca/Oxford – is still anyone’s guess. Many believe it will be the Pfizer vaccine, given that it is was the first to report an impressive 95% protection level in advanced clinical trials, although regulators have received “rolling data” on all of the jabs as soon as it has become available.

In terms of which country will be first, and when that might be, we’re still talking guestimates. A vaccine might be approved simultaneously by different regulators, or one of them might give the green light before the others.

And the decision could come in days or weeks.

One thing that is certain – regulators won’t be rushed. The UK’s MHRA says it will aim to make a decision in the shortest time possible, without compromising the thoroughness of its review. The safety of the public will always come first.

The prime minister says the burden on the hospitality sector has been "very great" and the industry has borne a "disproportionate share" of the burden of the crisis.

However, he says the situation has been similar in other European countries and restrictions were necessary to keep schools open.

"We will do everything in our power to support our hospitality sector throughout this crisis," he adds.

Johnson says his government has extended the furlough scheme and is also offering extra financial support to "wet pubs", which do not serve food and are hit harder by the new tier system.

Image source, AFP

As the debate on the government's new tiered restrictions gets under way, the prime minister's official spokesman has defended the decision not to publish an analysis showing the impact of the pandemic on different sectors of the economy.

The spokesman said: "Any attempt to estimate the specific economic impacts of precise changes to individual restrictions for a defined period of time will be subject to such wide uncertainty as to not be meaningful for precise policy making.

"The data used on this dashboard is drawn from publicly available sources.

"Throughout the pandemic you have seen us publish a wide variety of data. That will continue to be the case."

After Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said he had not seen the document, the spokesman said that it had been drawn up by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

"You would expect BEIS and other government departments to want to understand the impact the pandemic has had across the country. Everybody in government is clear that the pandemic is having a big impact on the economy," the spokesman said.

Johnson says that - unlike in the current lockdown - everyone in England will be able to meet others in public parks and gardens. Visits to places of worship and organised sport can resume, he adds.

"I accept this is not a return to normality," he says. "What we can't do is remove all the restrictions at once."

He says that would be the "surest way" of endangering the NHS and forcing a New Year lockdown.

Boris Johnson describes Labour's decision to abstain in the vote later as "extraordinary" and says the case for regional tiers is "compelling".

He says everyone understands and appreciates the "anguish" of pub owners.

He also insists the new measures are not a "another lockdown".

"Everyone in England will be free to leave their homes for any reason and when they do they will find the shops open for Christmas," he says.

He adds that the hairdressers, nail bars, swimming pools and leisure centres will also be open.

The national measures in England have "eased the burden on the NHS" and there are signs the infection rate is levelling off, the prime minister says.

But while the virus has been "contained" he says it has not been "eradicated".

"Despite the immense progress of last four weeks our NHS remains under pressure," he adds.

Opening the debate, Boris Johnson says his recent visit to a Wales laboratory meant he saw up close one of the seven vaccines that could help to end the pandemic.

He says that while progress is being made, "we have to accept no vaccine is here yet" and so the country "has to be realistic".

"We can't be completely sure when the moment will arrive and until then we cannot afford to relax," he says.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson now gets to his feet to open the debate on the new tiers system to be implemented in England.

The debate could last until 19:00 GMT when MPs will get the chance to vote on the restrictions.

Although Johnson is facing a rebellion from some of his own MPs, the tiers system is expected to be approved.

BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live's Nicky Campbell asked listeners what they thought about vaccine passports.

They're something Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said are not in the pipeline to give people access to places such as pubs and restaurants.

But Emma (pictured) runs the Stables Pub and Restaurant in Exeter. She thinks they are a good idea.

“I think it’s something that we seriously have to consider. Being in the hospitality sector, things have been pretty tough so far," she said.

She also said it will encourage those that have been in quarantine to feel safe when they return to normal life.

“We have a lot of people that have been isolating for months and months and months, and we want them to feel safe coming out and coming into the pubs," she said.

“We have a lot of older customers that come to us so it would be a massive consideration for them, to feel safe in our environment."

She also said it will make staff feel more comfortable at work.

“We have a big responsibility for our team," she added.

Robin, in Coventry doesn’t think it’s logistically possible for vaccine passports to work.

“One of the big problems, is when you crunch the numbers, there’s 66 million people in the country.

“You’re looking at two and a half years before the last person gets vaccinated," he said.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live's Your Call programme on the free BBC Sounds app.

Image source, Getty Images

A Covid-19 testing site in Los Angeles has been reopened after it was temporarily closed to allow production crew to film scenes for a movie, the city’s mayor has said.

A permit was granted to Miramax for the filming of He’s All That, a remake of the 1999 romantic comedy She’s All That featuring TikTok star Addison Rae.

The shoot was due to take place on Tuesday inside and outside Union Station with a cast and crew of about 170 people, the city’s film office said.

In an email, first reported by entertainment news website Deadline, external, Los Angeles residents were told the testing site “had to cancel all appointments” on the day of the filming.

But on Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the testing site would be available to the 504 people who booked tests there after all.

The move came after the site’s closure drew criticism from residents and a homeless outreach and advocacy group.

MPs will in the next 30 minutes start to debate the new coronavirus tiers that are due to be introduced in England on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to open the debate in the Commons, ahead of a vote this evening.

Some Tory backbenchers are angry that their constituencies will face tougher restrictions than before the latest lockdown.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth told the BBC Labour supports public health restrictions but "the government has not come forward with the economic package that families and businesses... need".

Labour says it will abstain in the vote because of its "misgivings".

It means the government is expected to win approval for the measures, which it has described as necessary to stop infections rising again.

Use our look-up tool to check which Covid tier your area is set to be in from tomorrow.

There has been a lot of discussion about which tiers of coronavirus restrictions areas fall into, as MPs prepare to debate and vote on the new system later today.

Tiers have been applied in broad areas, generally matching counties or city regions.

According to last week's briefing paper, external, one of the key "indicators" for deciding a tier was an area's case rate per 100,000 people for the week ending 19 November.

This chart shows the cases per 100,000 people for that week, in each of the areas.

An exception to the broad approach was made for Slough. This local authority has a high rate and has been put in tier three, while the rest of Berkshire and neighbouring Buckinghamshire have been placed in tier two.

Local authorities within Kent had a wide range of case rates, with Tunbridge Wells much lower than Swale or Thanet. However, at county level, Kent and Medway had just over 300 cases per 100,000 and was rising.

Many MPs, however, are still unsatisfied with the government's explanations.

Conservative MP Damian Green, who represents Ashford, asked the government to apply rules at "a local level, districts rather than counties or regions" as "restrictions which people feel are unfair to their particular community will simply not be respected or obeyed".

Image source, Getty Images

It's lunchtime in the UK - here are the latest coronavirus headlines here and worldwide:

• High street retailer Debenhams is preparing to close all its UK stores after takeover talks collapsed on Tuesday - 12,000 jobs are at risk. The firm was hit by restrictions during the pandemic
• Dozens of Conservative MPs are expected to vote against government plans to introduce a new tiered system of coronavirus restrictions across England on Wednesday
• The measures are likely to pass as Labour and other opposition groups are abstaining
• Official data shows nearly 2,700 deaths mentioning Covid-19 on the death certificate were registered in England and Wales in the week ending 20 November - the highest figure since May
• Large parts of Scotland are expected to enter tougher restrictions when the country's coronavirus alert levels are reviewed later
• The United Nations has launched its largest ever appeal for humanitarian aid. It's asking for £26bn to help people affected by the pandemic, famine, and wars in Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan
• The US is experiencing its worst-stage of the pandemic since it began, Dr Anthony Fauci has told the BBC
• The European Medicines Agency regulator has said it will complete a review into a promising coronavirus vaccine by 29 December at the latest

A little while ago we reported that BioNTech and Pfizer were seeking EU approval for their coronavirus vaccine.

The bloc's regulator - the European Medicines Agency - has now said that it would complete its review by 29 December at the latest.

The EMA has also said it will finish assessing another promising vaccine, from Moderna, by 12 January next year.

In both cases the EMA says approval will depend on whether the "data submitted are sufficiently robust and complete to show the quality, safety and effectiveness of the vaccine".

There have been suggestions in both the UK and US that vaccines could be rolled out before Christmas but EU citizens, at least, may have to wait longer.

A community group in Burnley says it has seen "unprecedented" demand for help during the pandemic.

Mick Fleming, from Church on the Street, which provides food to homeless people and others who need it, said the coronavirus pandemic had hit the poor hard.

He said: "I go into houses and I sometimes have children ripping the bags open to get at the food as I'm carrying them in the door.

"And it's not alright that... And it wasn't as bad as that before the virus."

BBC analysis has shown the death rate from all causes between April and June this year in the most deprived areas was nearly double that of deaths in the least deprived parts of England.

The majority of the top 10 cities and towns with the highest death rates were in the north of England.

Watch the BBC's special correspondent, Ed Thomas's report from Burnley above.

The US is going through the worst stage of its coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, the top infectious diseases expert in the country has said.

Dr Anthony Fauci told the BBC new records appeared to be set every day, with between 100,000 to 200,000 new cases and 1,000 to 2,000 deaths seen daily.

He said the US had broken a national record for the number of people currently in the hospital with Covid 19. As of Monday, there were a record 96,039 people in hospital with the disease, according to the Covid Tracking Project, external.

“And the totals of deaths are 266,000 deaths and over 13 million cases. So we're really having a terrible time,” Dr Fauci added.

At the end of the Thanksgiving holiday last week, Fauci warned of “surge upon surge” of coronavirus cases as millions of people travelled to and from trips to see loved ones.

Health experts had called for people to spend Thanksgiving at home, but last week US airports marked their busiest period since mid-March.