Here is a summary of the changes to the Covid-19 tier levels announced on Wednesday by the Government.

– Tier 4

A total of 44 million people will be living in Tier 4 from 12.01am on Thursday December 31.

This is 78% of the population of England.

Some 20 million people have been added to Tier 4, in the following areas:

– Cheshire: Cheshire East, Cheshire West & Chester and Warrington
– Cumbria: Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Copeland, Eden and South Lakeland
– Derbyshire: Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derby, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire and South Derbyshire
– Dorset: Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole
– Durham
– Gloucestershire: Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury
– Greater Manchester: Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan
– Hampshire: Isle of Wight and New Forest
– Lancashire: Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre
– Leicestershire: Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley & Bosworth, Leicester, Melton, North West Leicestershire and Oadby & Wigston
– Lincolnshire: Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven and West Lindsey
– Northamptonshire: Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire and Wellingborough
– Northumberland
– Nottinghamshire: Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, Gedling, Mansfield, Newark & Sherwood, Nottingham and Rushcliffe
– Somerset: Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West & Taunton and South Somerset
– Staffordshire: Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent and Tamworth
– Tees Valley: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees
– Tyne & Wear: Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland
– Warwickshire: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rugby, Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick
– West Midlands metropolitan county: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton
– Wiltshire: Swindon

These areas join Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, East Sussex, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Surrey and West Sussex, which are already in Tier 4.

The main restrictions in Tier 4 are:

– No household mixing allowed, though one person can meet one other person outside in a public space
– All non-essential shops and businesses must close, including personal care and indoor entertainment
– Nobody can enter or leave Tier 4 areas
– Residents must not stay overnight away from home

– Tier 3

A total of 12 million people will be living in Tier 3 from December 31.

This is 22% of the population of England.

The following areas will move into Tier 3:

– Cornwall
– Devon: East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, Plymouth, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torbay, Torridge and West Devon
– Dorset
– Herefordshire
– Liverpool City Region: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helens and Wirral
– North Yorkshire: Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby
– Rutland
– Shropshire, including Telford & Wrekin
– Somerset: Bath & North East Somerset
– Wiltshire
– Worcestershire: Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon and Wyre Forest
– York

These areas join Bristol, the Humber, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, which stay in Tier 3.

The main restrictions in Tier 3 are:

– No household mixing allowed indoors or outdoors, except in parks and public gardens
– All hospitality is closed, except for takeaways and deliveries
– All accommodation and entertainment venues are closed

– Tier 2

No areas will be in Tier 2 from December 31.

– Tier 1

Just 2,000 people remain in Tier 1 – the population of the Isles of Scilly.

The main restrictions in Tier 1 are:

– The “rule of six” must apply indoors and outdoors
– There must be table service in hospitality venues, with last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm
– Large sporting and entertainment events are allowed but with a limited audience.