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The Government made the shock announcement on Thursday evening that lockdown restrictions would be tightened across many parts of the North of England, leaving many businesses and employees with questions about what is allowed and which businesses can open.

Business and political leaders have been urgently trying to seek clarification on what the new rules mean, and exactly where they apply.

The rules, announced at 9pm on Thursday, will mean different things for different areas, however the Government this morning published a list of guidelines of what is and is not permitted.

The main rule is that people from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire will be banned from meeting each other indoors from midnight.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said "households gathering and not abiding by the social distancing rules" was a reason for the stricter rules and it was in order to "keep the country safe" as Covid-19 rates of coronavirus infection began to rise.

He said: "We take this action with a heavy heart but unfortunately it's necessary because we've seen that households meeting up and a lack of social distancing is one of the causes of this rising rate of coronavirus and we'll do whatever is necessary to keep the country safe."

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham welcomed the measures, which he said would be reviewed on a weekly basis.

Chris Fletcher, director of policy and communications at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: "It should be made clear that these measures are squarely aimed at preventing the spread of Covid 19 between households and should not have any immediate impact on businesses in Greater Manchester.