South Yorkshire will move into a tier 3 coronavirus lockdown, after an agreement was reached between local leaders and central government.
People from different households will not be allowed to mix, pubs and bars not serving food will be forced to close and residents will be told not to travel outside the area.
Dan Jarvis, the Labour mayor of the Sheffield City Region, said due to a surge in infections “inaction was not an option”.
“While infection rates vary across South Yorkshire, collective action was the only practical choice to keep everyone in our region safe,” he said on Wednesday morning.
“If restrictions are effective, individual local authorities will be able to move to lower alert levels as soon as it is safe to do so, in consultation with fellow local leaders, myself and national government.
“However, to reach that point as quickly as possible, it’s critical people in South Yorkshire follow the new restrictions as soon as they are in place.”
Betting shops, adult gaming centres, casinos and soft play centres must also shut.
Gyms will be allowed to remain open, but classes involving groups of people will be banned.
South Yorkshire joins the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and Lancashire in tier 3.
A raft of different areas were weighing up whether they too would enter the “Very High Risk” status of the highest tier of restrictions.
No.10 sources said that talks between the government and council leaders inTeesside and Tyne and Wear had been “paused” because local infection rates appeared to have improved.
Negotiations were taking place on Wednesday at the level of officials, rather than ministers, between the government and Nottinghamshire leaders.
Although contact has been made with West Yorkshire leaders about Tier 3, no talks haveyet started.
In Greater Manchester, the government imposed tier 3 restrictions – including the closure of pubs, bars and betting shops – from Friday without the agreement of local leaders.
Talks broke down with the government unwilling to provide the £65 million asked for by mayor Andy Burnham as the “bare minimum to prevent a winter of real hardship”.
Despite initially confirming only a £22 million package to support contact tracing and enforcement of the new rules in Greater Manchester, ministers have said the extra support is still on the table.
Labour will force a Commons vote on Wednesday demanding a “fair one nation deal” for areas facing tier 3 restrictions.