More areas of England could be placed under tougher coronavirus restrictions when the Health Secretary outlines changes to tiers today (Wednesday).

We are covering the announcement and its build-up live here.

Matt Hancock will address the recalled House of Commons after MPs have passed key legislation on the post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union.

A decision was expected to be made at a meeting of the Government's Covid-19 Operations committee on Tuesday evening, to be chaired by Boris Johnson.

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With case rates rising in all regions of England, as well as the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals, any changes are likely to involve areas moving up a tier rather than down.

After just a week under Tier 1 restrictions, Herefordshire was placed back into the stricter Tier 2 from Boxing Day as the Government said the picture in Herefordshire had "deteriorated", with case rates in all ages increasing by nearly 80 per cent in the week before the review on December 23.

"In the most recent few days the number of cases is continuing to increase rapidly," Department of Health and Social Care documents said.

"The number of daily Covid hospital admissions in the local NHS (Herefordshire and Worcestershire STP) continues to rise."

In the week since the Government reviewed the tier across the country, the picture in Herefordshire has not improved.

The Department of Health and Social Care says it assesses each area individually, and said it will continue to move at a more localised level where the data and human geographies permit.

As set out in the Covid-19 Winter Plan, there are five indicators which guide decisions for any given area, alongside consideration of "human geographies", like travel patterns.

The five criteria are:

  • Cases all age groups
  • Cases in the over 60s
  • The rate at which cases are rising or falling
  • Positivity rate (the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken)
  • Pressure on the NHS

How many new cases have there been in Herefordshire over the last week?

Public Health England figures show 3,338 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 by 9am on Tuesday (December 29) in Herefordshire.

That's up from 3,254 reported cases since March at the same time on Monday (December 28).

It means since in the last seven days, 338 new cases have been reported in Herefordshire.

Matt Hancock moved areas, including Herefordshire, to different tier on December 23.

In the week to last Wednesday, 283 new cases had been reported.

How many cases have there been in the over 60s?

When the review took place to move Herefordshire down to Tier 1 from December 19, Matt Hancock said at the review the seven-day infection rate in the over 60s was stable at 41 cases per 100,000 people.

But when the announcement was made on December 23 to move the county back to Tier 2, data for the seven-day period to December 17 had risen slightly to 52.5 cases per 100,000.

In the most recent data, which covers the period up to December 24, that infection rate had more than trebled to 167.4.

At what rate are cases rising?

The overall infection rate for Herefordshire is rising.

The figures, for the seven days to December 23, are based on tests carried out in laboratories (pillar one of the Government’s testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).

The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

Data for the most recent four days (December 24-27) has been excluded as it is incomplete and does not reflect the true number of cases.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 282 (90 per cent) have seen a rise in case rates and 33 (10 per cent) have seen a fall.

In Herefordshire, the rate for the week to December 23 was 188.8 cases per 100,000 people, up from 79.4 the week before.

What is the positivity rate?

Data from the Government's online coronavirus dashboard shows the number of people who received a coronavirus test, and the percentage of those who had at least one positive result.

For Herefordshire, the dashboard covers up to December 24. In the seven-day period to then, 6,252 had been tested. The positivity rate was just 6.4 per cent, but that was up from 4.1 per cent the week before.

Is the NHS in Herefordshire under pressure?

Latest figures show there are now more coronavirus patients at the Wye Valley NHS Trust than ever before.

The new high was reached just two days before Christmas on December 23 when there were 52 Covid-19 patients being treated in Herefordshire's hospitals.

The previous high was on April 5, during the first national wave of coronavirus, when there were 50 patients being cared for.

The latest figures available from the Government and NHS England cover up to December 23 and show the number of confirmed Covid-19 patients in Herefordshire's hospitals has been rising over recent weeks.

In the week to December 23, the number of patients more than doubled from 23 to 52.

What if Herefordshire is moved to Tier 3 restrictions?

If the county was placed in Tier 3, there would be some changes to the rules.

Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes would all have to close except for delivery, takeaway and drive-throughs.

Mixing with other households would be banned indoors and outdoors except in public parks.

Weddings and funerals could still take place with the restriction on guests the same as tier 2. Care home visits could also take place.

Hairdressers and beauty salons could stay open.

Outdoor grassroots sport would remain banned and all indoor entertainment venues including play centres, bingo halls, arcades, cinemas and theatres would all have to stay closed.

What about the rest of the country?

The PA news agency reports some parts of the East Midlands, such as Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, could be moved up from Tier 3 to Tier 4, while other counties such as Lincolnshire and Derbyshire may stay in Tier 3.

All the areas within the West Midlands metropolitan county – Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton – might be facing a move from Tier 3 to 4.

Hartlepool in north-east England, along with a handful of areas in Lancashire – Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Pendle and Ribble Valley – could also be upgraded from Tier 3 to 4.

Cumbria might be moved from Tier 2 to Tier 3, as could Worcestershire and North Yorkshire.

Pressure has been mounting on ministers to expand Tier 4 restrictions in the face of increasing strain on hospitals in England where the number of patients has surpassed the April peak of the first wave.