Covid: New restrictions start - which tier are you in?

A new three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions have come into effect in England.

It follows the four-week national lockdown across England.

The tougher restrictions have been brought in by looking at factors such as weekly cases of coronavirus.

The majority of people in England will be in the strictest two tiers and cannot mix indoors with other households.

The system will be regularly reviewed and an area's tier level may change before Christmas - the first review is scheduled for 16 December.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the "tough measures" are the best way to avoid a "new year lockdown", and that "if we're going to keep schools open, our options are limited".

He added: "The faster we can drive it down the faster we can lift the restrictions - and that is what the tiers are designed to achieve."

He says the previous tiers system slowed infection rates but "were never quite enough" which is why the new ones are a bit stricter.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "We're approaching the end of a year where we've asked so much of the British people, and in response to this unprecedented threat, to lives and to livelihoods, the British people have well and truly risen to the challenge by coming together to slow the spread and support each other.

"I know how difficult this has been, especially for those areas that have been in restrictions for so long.

"We must protect our NHS this winter,"

Wherever you live in England, non-essential shops selling things like clothes or games can reopen, as can hairdressers and leisure centres. Meanwhile grassroots sport will be allowed again.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

People across the UK will be allowed to form a Christmas bubble for five days from the 23 December, where up to three households can come together to celebrate.

So which areas are in which tier?

Tier 3

Areas in the highest level of local restrictions - tier three - include Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Tees Valley Combined Authority and North East Combined Authority.

Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Leicester, Lincolnshire, Slough, Bristol, Kent and Medway will also be in tier three.

People living in Tier 3 will face the toughest restrictions with strict rules over where people are allowed to meet up.

Tier 2

The Liverpool City region was the first to go into Tier 3 when the regional restrictions was announced back in October, however under the latest set of rules the area is now in Tier 2.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock thanked the people of Liverpool for "following restrictions".

The Health secretary also praised the results of a community testing programme in the city of Liverpool.

The result is that in the Liverpool city region cases have fallen by more than two-thirds. And in the borough of Liverpool itself, where the mass testing took place, cases have fallen by three-quarters.

Tier 1

Only a few areas have been placed into Tier 1 and they include places with the lowest number of coronavirus cases - such as Cornwall, the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly.

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock thanked people living in those areas for their "vigilance" and asked people living across England not to see the tier rules "as a boundary to push" but a limit as to what they can do.

Adding that it is "on all of us" to help reduce the spread of the virus.