Johnson says this is "in no way a return to the lockdown" from March.

He says schools and colleges will remain open and businesses can stay open in a "covid compliant way".

As we were expecting from the PM, the advice is now to work from home if you can, despite advice earlier in this month to head back to the workplace.

Johnson confirms that pubs and restaurants in England will have a curfew from Thursday, needing to shut up shop by 22:00 BST (21:00 GMT), and table service will be required.

"I am sorry this will affect many businesses just getting back on their feet, but we must act."

He points to comments made by scientific advisers yesterday that without action, thousands more could be infected with Covid-19 next month.

He says he "wishes" he could reassure the house it was merely a function of more testing, but it isn't.

The PM says hospital admissions had doubled and it could only get worse as we go into winter.

"This is the moment where we must act. If we can curb the number of daily infections... we can save lives, protect the NHS and shelter the economy.

"A stitch in time saves nine."

Boris Johnson begins his speech in Parliament saying he will outline how "we must act to avoid" a worse outcome.

The prime minister says there has been a "delicate balance" of measures, and the "common sense and fortitude of British people meant that earlier this year we were able to avert an even bigger catastrophe".

But we have now reached a "perilous turning point", he adds.

House of Commons
Parliament

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has begun his speech to the UK Parliament about new coronavirus restrictions for England.

We will bring you all the updates, responses and analysis here.

Image source, PA Media

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson should begin his speech in Parliament in the next few minutes.

He is expected to announce new measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak as the UK’s alert level was raised from three to four.

But how does the alert level system work? And what does the rise mean?

While we wait for the statement to start, read our guide here.

Image source, Getty Images

From Thursday, all pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues in England must close by 22:00.

The sector will be restricted by law to table service only.

Currently, people in England can meet in groups of no more than six and they shouldn't mingle with other groups in pubs or restaurants.

Table bookings of more than six are not allowed.

Hospitality businesses are legally required to take customers' contact details so they can be traced if a potential outbreak is linked to the venue. Previously, they were advised to do so, but didn't have to officially.

Businesses can be fined if they take reservations of more than six, do not enforce social distancing or do not take customers' contact details.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said earlier there was evidence the 22:00 closing time had a "beneficial effect" on the spread of the virus.

So what are the rules around the rest of the UK? Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Just 15 minutes to go until Boris Johnson stands up in the Commons to deliver his coronavirus update.

While the prime minister has discussed his plans with the leaders of the other nations of the UK, he is only responsible for English rules.

So, what is happening across the rest of the UK?

• Covid-19 restrictions are to be extended across the whole of Northern Ireland from 18:00 BST
• There will be no mixing of households indoors with some exceptions, and no more than six people from two households can meet in a garden
• Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to outline new rules this afternoon
• They could include curfews at pubs and restaurants, rules on households meeting and limits on travel
• Four more areas of Wales are facing stricter lockdowns from this evening - Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Newport
• Nobody will be able to enter or leave the counties without a "reasonable excuse", friends and family can no longer meet indoors, and overnight stays are also banned

Image source, Reuters

Wetherspoons is planning to cut almost half of its staff at its pubs at six airports across the UK. It is expected that up to 450 jobs will go.

The major UK pub chain said: "The decision is mainly a result of a downturn in trade in these pubs, linked with the large reduction in passenger numbers using the airports,"

The job cuts will take place at Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

Less than two months ago the company announced that it was planning to make between 110 to 130 head office workers redundant.

Image source, UK Parliament

Boris Johnson is due to give a speech in the UK Parliament at 12:30 BST (11:30 GMT) outlining new plans to tackle growing numbers of coronavirus cases in England.

We know a few of the measures the prime minister will be announcing already – namely that pubs and restaurants will have to close at 22:00 from Thursday, and office workers will be encouraged to work from home.

But Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove hinted earlier that there could be more changes to come.

We will bring you all the updates on this page.

• Boris Johnson will shortly address MPs and later the nation on further coronavirus restrictions a day after scientists made dire warnings about the current trajectory of the virus
• The badly-hit US is sadly likely to register 200,000 deaths from coronavirus shortly
• Latin America is the worst-hit region for cases and deaths, as Mexico passes 700,000 total cases
• The Czech prime minister says he made a mistake in loosening restrictions too soon before the summer as the country breaks its records for new cases
• But there is a good economic news from Germany - booming online sales and the government's stimulus package has led to a predicted 1.5% growth in sales, according to one retail group
• Some positive news for film-lovers too - production is set to increase after Hollywood unions and major film studios announced a deal on safety measures

Image source, Arc Inspirations

New rules for 10pm closing for pubs and restaurants in England will be "absolutely devastating", leaving some businesses unable to cover their costs, the industry is warning.

Martin Wolstencroft, who manages bars across the north of England, said: "This is going to be the final nail in the coffin for many.

"After 10 o'clock is really when we start making money because that's when we start getting busier," he told the BBC.

And Oliver Vaulkhard, managing director of a hospitality group in the north east of England, said: "10pm doesn't sound dreadful but it does halve your revenue.

"You can sit people between 7 and 7.30 and when they're gone, they're gone. You can't get that 9 o'clock sitting."

The Vaulkhard Group only has six of its 15 venues open currently; its music and night club settings remain closed and those that were opened were trading at about 60% until last week.

The new tighter restrictions in the North East had reduced business dramatically again over the weekend.

Read the full story here.

A new report says secret websites and social media are playing a “more prominent” role in supplying illegal drugs since the coronavirus outbreak.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) says the trend away from face-to-face dealing and cash transactions may persist.

There are also signs of “declining interest” in cocaine and MDMA (Ecstasy) which are used in social settings, and there is “greater interest” in new substances, according to the centre's annual report.

It adds that the pandemic has led to an “increasingly volatile” environment for drug gangs resulting in higher levels of violence among “mid-level suppliers” and distributors.

More on those national statistics. We've been number crunching the figures from the Office for National Statistics, together with data from Scotland and Northern Ireland, to help paint a picture of where the UK's death toll is at:

Image source, Reuters

Russia says it expects to register a second potential vaccine against Covid-19 in October, TASS news agency reports.

In August the country licensed its first drug, called Sputnik V, for local use. In September, Russia said early tests by scientists showed it produced an autoimmune response against coronavirus, but larger trials were needed to prove effectiveness and safety.

On Tuesday the state-backed funders of Sputnik V say they will accept some liability if anyone who takes the virus develops unexpected side-effects, Reuters news agency reports.

Meanwhile phase-three clinical trials of a different vaccine, developed by Chinese company Cansinobio, begin today in Pakistan.

Read more about when there could be a vaccine.

We've got some new figures in from the Office for National Statistics, the UK's largest producer of independent statistics.

Its latest data shows, external coronavirus accounted for 1% of all deaths in England and Wales in the second week of this month.

That's among the lowest figures since March when the pandemic took hold.

But it's feared this will rise following recent increases in cases and hospitalisations.

Deaths from all causes in England and Wales were higher than average in the week to 11 September but this is probably because the August Bank Holiday delayed reporting.

Read more here.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Image source, Reuters

The Centres for Disease Control is a respected agency offering public health guidance to the US. Many other countries also look to the CDC for advice.

So when it updated its coronavirus guidance last week to say that coronavirus is airborne – meaning it spreads through tiny droplets that linger in the air – there was surprise. The World Health Organization said it knew of no new evidence to suggest this was how the virus is spreading.

The CDC later retracted that guidance saying "a draft version" was posted in error. The WHO says evidence for aerosol transmission is not strong and the main route is person to person spread through larger respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes.

But it acknowledges that in enclosed crowded spaces with inadequate ventilation, aerosol transmission could occur.

Image source, PA Media

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has apologised on behalf of the Labour Party for comments reportedly made by her shadow cabinet colleague, Kate Green.

According to the Sun newspaper, the shadow education secretary said: “Don’t let a good crisis go to waste” at a Labour event on Sunday, when she was talking about funding cuts to schools.

Asked about the comments on the BBC's Politics Live, Nandy said: "I am sorry that we’ve given the impression through that, that somehow this is a good thing.

"This is a terrible thing for the country.”

She added that it was "really badly expressed" and Green would be "the first person to accept that".

Nandy said Green was making the point that after 10 years of public funding cuts there were a lot of children who were already very far behind other kids - and "the failure to deal with the schools crisis will make that worse".

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

First it was the scientists, now it’s the turn of ministers.

On Monday the government's two most senior coronavirus advisers - Prof Chris Witty and Sir Patrick Vallance - set out the scale of the problem. Today ministers are coming forward with the solution.

The scientists' warning was dire – the UK could see 50,000 cases by mid October – up from under 4,000 a day on average currently.

The government's response? So far what we’ve heard on government policy for England is that pubs will have to close early and that you should work from home if you can (although more restrictions may be announced later).

There seems to be a disconnect between the two. Why?

Some experts have described the 50,000 figures as implausible. France and Spain – who are a few weeks ahead of us – are nowhere near that trajectory. What is more, the "rule of six" brought in last week has not had a chance to have an impact.

Many believe what we are seeing now is a natural drift upwards – society has reopened and it is the time of year when respiratory viruses circulate more.

So why all the doom and gloom? There are three ways of looking at it. Firstly, that we are truly on the brink of an explosion in cases (they after all are the experts and have access to all the data).

Secondly, that they are worried (some argue unnecessarily given hospital cases remain low) and are softening the public up for more restrictions. The other is that they are trying to influence behaviour so more draconian restrictions are not needed.

Just how far the prime minister goes this afternoon will be telling.

Image source, Getty Images

The pandemic has brought a lot of gloomy financial news as it has caused uncertainty and huge changes to how we work and shop.

But in Germany booming online sales and the government's stimulus package has led to a predicted 1.5% growth in sales, according to the HDE retail association. It had previously estimated a 4% drop.

"The coronavirus crisis is accelerating the structural transformation in retailing," HDE said, adding that small retailers still needed additional help. The prediction assumes that Germany will not see a second lockdown this winter.

In another reflection of changing consumers habits, Deutsche Bank has announced it will close a fifth of its branches in Germany, Reuters news agency reports. The closures will mainly be in urban places, it said. More customers used online banking instead of going into a branch during the pandemic is behind the decision, it said.

Image source, Getty Images

A one-eyed emotional support dog called Harley has been bringing joy to doctors and nurses on the front line of the battle against Covid-19 in Mexico.

The pug has visited 11 hospitals since the pandemic began.

His owner, psychologist Lucía Ledesma, says Harley "spreads love" and petting him reduces stress levels among the health workers he visits.

Image source, Getty Images

Cuddling Harvey can be especially beneficial for those doctors and nurses who have had to self-isolate due to their jobs and have not been able to see or hug their families, Lucía explains.

Harley's fame has also earned him a new "job". He stars in a comic strip published on Twitter by the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers.

Harley urges people - in the comic strip - to wear masks and take precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.