LONDON

British health secretary announced in parliament on Monday legal restriction on indoor mixing between households in any setting in parts of northeast England.

That includes pubs, cafes, restaurants, and other peoples’ residence, among any other settings.

A quarter of the UK population is now living under some form of local lockdown, including vast swathes of northern England and south Wales.

“Unfortunately, the number of cases continues to rise sharply. The incident rate across the area is now over 100 cases per 100,000. We know that a large number of these infections are taking place in indoor settings outside the home," said Matt Hancock.

“And so at the request of the local councils, with whom we have been working closely, we will introduce legal restrictions on indoor mixing between households in any setting.

“We do not take these steps lightly but we must take them and take them now because we know that swift action is more likely to bring the virus under control and the quicker we can get this virus under control, the quicker we can restore the freedoms we all enjoy in the north-east and across the country,” he added.

The British government also announced 4,044 new cases of people testing positive for coronavirus across the UK over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 439,013 cases. A further 13 people died, bringing the total to 42,001.