Coronavirus: New restrictions plan expected for England

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to outline a new plan for coronavirus restrictions in England.

Liverpool is expected to immediately be put into the toughest of the new restrictions. However, the plan will change how the government and local authorities deal with the coronavirus situation everywhere.

A new "three tier" system is going to be used. It will classify regions as being at a "medium," "high" or "very high" level of alert.

The Prime Minister will announce the plans to MPs in the House of Commons later today, before speaking at a Downing Street news conference later.

BBC Political Correspondent Chris Mason explains the government's plan like this:

The idea behind the tiers is to make things easier to understand.

But agreeing the tiers and the differences between them is difficult, and has taken weeks.

The government wants a simple plan, but in reality the situation is very complicated: different regions are in different circumstances and have different local leaders.

This new approach sparks many questions - how will regions be categorised? How clear and public will the rules be? What will be the strategy for improving an area's situation and moving down the tiers?

Liverpool is expected to be put into the toughest measures

Liverpool are expected to be in the "very high" category when the tiers are announced.

Cases across Liverpool and surrounding areas have the some of the highest infection rates of coronavirus.

Greater Manchester is also expected to enter the toughest tier - currently being called 'tier 3.'

Greater Manchester Police handed out more than 70 fines over the weekend for breaches of coronavirus laws, which included a gathering of up to 100 people.