Matt Hancock is set to reveal any changes to the Covid-19 tiers on Wednesday, Downing Street has confirmed.
The health secretary is due to set out plans, making clear what restrictions will be in place and where for the following two weeks, in a Commons statement.
It comes as ministers who sit on the Cabinet Office’s Covid Operations committee (“Covid O”) prepare to meet on Tuesday evening to examine the latest data on the pandemic in England.
Hancock signalled before Christmas, after two new and more infectious strains of the virus were found to be present in the UK, it was more likely that restrictions would be tightened than loosened.
On Tuesday, Downing Street would not be drawn on whether the committee would discuss school closures, amid reports a new “tier 5” lockdown was an option.
Ministers moved to place London and huge swathes of the south-east under the toughest local lockdown, tier 4, earlier this month, after cases in the capital almost doubled in the space of seven days.
Cases have continued to surge over the festive season and millions more woke up on Boxing Day to tougher measures.
There are also growing fears over NHS capacity, as rises in hospital admissions begin to follow the spike in cases. England’s hospitals now have more Covid-19 patients than during April’s first-wave peak.
NHS England figures show there were 20,426 patients in NHS hospitals in England as of 8am on Monday, compared to the 18,974 patients recorded on April 12.
Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, raised the alarm over the service, saying “again” the NHS was “back in the eye of the storm with a second wave of coronavirus sweeping Europe and, indeed, this country”.
The health secretary is due to make a statement to MPs at around 3pm.
The government is also “still planning for a staggered opening of schools” after Christmas but is keeping the plan under constant review, a No.10 spokesperson said.
They told a Westminster briefing: “We’re still planning for a staggered opening of schools and we are working to ensure testing is in place.
“As we have said throughout the pandemic, we obviously keep all measures under constant review.”