A new so-called Lighthouse laboratory which the government claims could process 80,000 coronavirus tests a day is to be opened in Newcastle, it has been announced.

The new lab in the city and another in Bracknell follow the previous announcements of others in Newport and Charnwood, which will scale testing capacity to help deliver 500,000 tests per day by the end of October, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

A spokeswoman said the Newcastle site will be able to deliver 80,000 tests per day by the end of March.

More details of the restrictions coming in at midnight tonight to seven North East areas have been revealed.

As well as a ban on socialising between households, and restrictions on pubs, only essential visits to care homes and hospitals will be allowed, and people should not go on holiday with other households, Berwick Conservative MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan said.

She added: "I will be reviewing figures on a ward level and making the case for wards or areas to be removed from the restricted area as soon as possible.

"I do not want to see these restrictions in place any longer than is necessary and I will be pushing for them to be lifted as soon as case numbers start to decline once more."

BBC Newcastle

County Durham's director of public health has said people in the seven affected areas must follow the new restrictions to stop a stricter lockdown being reintroduced.

Amanda Heeley told us: "If we do want to be able to continue to go to work, to schools, to keep in contact with relatives but stop an increase in the cases we have seen, we are really urging people to adhere to the guidance coming out today."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the measures are coming into force in seven council areas amid "concerning" rates of Covid-19.

He said Sunderland has an incidence rate of 103 cases per 100,000 people, while in South Tyneside Gateshead and Newcastle the figures are all above 70.

Mr Hancock said the government was taking "swift action" after concerns were raised by the councils covering the affected areas.

He said: "We have seen local action work well in some parts of the country and now we must take further action.

"We have seen concerning rates of infection in the North East.

"We agree with the local councils, we must follow the data and act, and the data says we must act now."

New restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the North East will have a "real impact" on people, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned.

From midnight, people in seven council areas "should not socialise" with people outside of their household or support bubble, he told the House of Commons.

Pubs and restaurants must offer table service only and all "leisure and entertainment venues" must be closed between 22:00 and 05:00.

Mr Hancock said the measures have been introduced at the request of the seven councils affected.

He said: "I know these decisions have a real impact on families, businesses and local communities, we do not take these decisions lightly.

"The data says we must act now so we can control the virus and keep people safe.

"I know the people of the North East will come together to defeat this virus, as defeat it we must."

New restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus in seven council areas in the North East have been announced by the government.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has outlined the following measures after a "concerning rise" in cases:

• Residents should not socialise with other people outside their own households or support bubble.
• Pubs must close between 22:00 and 05:00
• They must only offer table service

The new measures will come into force at midnight in areas covered by Durham County Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, Northumberland County Council, South Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council.

The measures will affect about two million people.

It comes after a spike in Covid-19. In total there were 1,106 new cases in a seven-day period.

Matt Hancock is speaking now, and coverage can be seen on the BBC Parliament channel.

It seems business questions in Parliament overran, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock is still due to reveal details of new Covid-19 restrictions across seven North East council areas this morning.

He will be addressing the House of Commons and coverage can be seen on the BBC Parliament channel.

Labour MPs in Tyneside, Sunderland, Northumberland and County Durham have written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to ask for extra support in light of the new Covid-19 restrictions, which are to be announced shortly.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is due to reveal details of new Covid-19 restrictions across seven North East council areas at 11:30.

He will be addressing the House of Commons and coverage can be seen on the BBC Parliament channel.

Image source, EPA

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes told BBC Radio 4's Today programme his team had sent proposals to the Department of Health for pubs and restaurants to close at 22:00 and for people to be banned from socialising outside their bubble.

Boris Johnson has warned actions to stop a second surge of coronavirus must be "tough now" in order to "protect" Christmas.

His words come as stricter new measures are due to be announced in seven North East council areas, including a 22:00 curfew on pubs and restaurants.

The PM said people have to be "both confident and cautious" and that it is "crucial" the country does not re-enter "some great lockdown again that stops business from functioning".

Image source, JESSICA TAYLOR/UK PARLIAMENT

He told The Sun, external: "Christmas we want to protect, and we want everyone to have a fantastic Christmas.

"But the only way to make sure the country is able to enjoy Christmas is to be tough now.

"So if we can grip it now, stop the surge, arrest the spike, stop the second hump of the dromedary, flatten the second hump."

The government is "working with councils in the North East and local MPs" to do "what is necessary to keep people safe", Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

On the challenges around testing he said "it's a matter of using the record capacity for the prioritised people who really need it" and reiterated that only those with symptoms of Covid-19 should be requesting a test.

Image source, PA Media

He was speaking on a visit to Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital in central London.

Mr Hancock is due to make a statement to the House of Commons about the North East restrictions from 11:30 BST.

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes says the temporary measures will mainly be a restriction on social gatherings.

"The evidence we've found from local testing is that it's spreading in three main areas: in pubs, in people's homes and in grassroots sports," he said.

"So [council leaders] have put together a series of requests to government for additional restrictions around these areas for a fixed period of time to try to prevent a damaging full lockdown."

Image source, Reuters

A blocked or runny nose, a sore throat and a cough are common, especially in the winter. But how do you know if you have coronavirus?

The new measures are expected be in place in the areas covered by Durham County Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, North Tyneside Council, Northumberland County Council, South Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council.

Areas managed by the councils of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland will not be covered by the new restrictions, it is believed..

Students planning to go to university in the affected North East regions should still attend, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has said.

Speaking to ITV's Peston programme, external, Mr Jenrick said new lockdown measures will be "specific" and "tailored" to the "particular issues" in the North East with a full briefing to be made available to everyone during the day.

Image source, ITV

Asked if the government was happy for universities such as those in Newcastle to reopen, Mr Jenrick said: "We have to.

"We have prioritised education in general, we want to encourage students to go back. Universities have put a huge amount of effort into making sure their universities are safe, putting in place correct procedures, bubbles, remote learning and so on.

"It is important education returns to a degree of normality."

Daniel Wainwright
BBC England Data Unit

While parts of north-west England have consistently had the highest rates of new infections for some time now, areas of the North East have also been reporting big increases.

In the week to 30 August Sunderland had 24 cases. Two weeks later it was 228.

The rise in South Tyneside was also very large, up from 70 cases in the last week of August to 141 in the week to 13 September.

Parts of the region are recording rates they haven't seen since May, when the country was still subject to most of the full lockdown measures.

Testing capacity has increased since then but there have been shortages due to the recent surge in demand.

Measures to stop households mixing and early pub closures are expected to be introduced on Friday.

The North East has seen a resurgence of coronavirus in recent weeks and four boroughs were last week placed on the government's watchlist for areas needing "enhanced support".

On Monday, councils in the seven areas of Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, County Durham and Sunderland called for new restrictions.

BBC analysis of the government's figures shows that, as of Wednesday, Bolton had the highest rate in England at 204.1 per 100,000 people in the week to 13 September.

Sunderland's rate was 82.1 per 100,000 people, South Tyneside was 93.4, Gateshead was 81.7, Newcastle was 64.1, North Tyneside was 46.7, with County Durham at 37.4 and Northumberland at 25.7.

In total there were 1,106 new cases in a seven-day period.