Increased pressure on hospitals due to surging Covid-19 infections will lead to most of England soon coming under the toughest pandemic measures, the national papers say.

The i and The Times report millions more people will be subject to stay-at-home orders while The Sun says two thirds of England could be placed under Tier 4 restrictions from Thursday.

Doctors fear hospitals will soon face “horrendous choices” over which coronavirus patients should receive life-saving treatments due to the NHS being overloaded, according to The Guardian.

Care home bosses plead in the Daily Mirror for their residents to be given vaccinations against Covid-19 – “weeks after the Tories promised them”.

Boris Johnson is quoted as saying “We now open a new chapter in our story” in The Daily Telegraph as he calls on MPs to back his trade pact with Brussels, a story also covered by the Daily Express and the Daily Mail.

The Daily Star describes a “Whitemare” as it says snow has stopped essential deliveries for self-isolating families, while Labour frontbencher Ed Miliband calls in The Independent for the public to protest throughout 2021 to force action on the climate.

And the Financial Times reports investment banks made a record 125 billion dollars (£92.5 billion ) in fees this year due to firms raising cash to survive the pandemic.