Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to make a television address to the nation tonight following a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases around the country.
The speech, which will take place at 8pm this evening (September 22), is expected to cover new Government measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Mr Johnson held a cabinet meeting at 8.30am on Tuesday, to sign off the plans, before chairing an emergency meeting with the Cobra committee, with the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Among the announcements, the Prime Minister is expected to tell people to work from home if they can.
He is also likely to reiterate an earlier statement made in the House of Commons on Tuesday, that restaurants, pubs and bars in England will need to close at 10pm from Thursday.
Other measures that could be covered in his address include a new rule that face masks must now be worn by people working in retail, taxis and private hire drivers, and customers and staff in hospitality.
People will also now be fined £200 for not wearing a face mask (for their first offence), according to the commons speech Mr Johnson made earlier today.
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Other measures he may discuss tonight include an earlier announcement that from Monday, only 15 people can attend weddings but 30 can attend a funeral.
He is also likely to say that the "rule of six" now applies to indoor adult sports teams.
“In his deliberations on this Covid precipice, Boris Johnson needs to be very careful that lockdowns that are too restrictive will probably hit business hard and really damage the economy," said Ian Mean, chamber director of Business West in Gloucestershire.
“I think we must now re-establish those daily Covid briefings from Downing Street giving us the latest figures.
“The figures now being presented to government are very scary. There is no easy answer and business recovering now finds itself again in a cloud of uncertainty.
“Everybody’s health and wellbeing is obviously the priority but government must be careful not to completely shut down our economy.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "No one underestimates the challenges the new measures will pose to many individuals and businesses.
"We know this won't be easy, but we must take further action to control the resurgence in cases of the virus and protect the NHS."