UK coronavirus: Boris Johnson announces new lockdown in England from Thursday – live news

PM says unless action is taken now, capacity will be exceeded in hospitals and there will be thousands of deaths a day

At the risk of ruining everyone’s evening even further, this from the Telegraph’s Michael Deacon:

Is it a bad time to mention that the original three-month lockdown was announced like this pic.twitter.com/3cTUbYsymL

The announcement of new nationwide coronavirus measures is “confusing” for West Yorkshire residents who had been preparing for Tier 3 restrictions on Monday, the leader of Bradford Council has said.

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe said she had been assured there would not be a national lockdown during discussions with the government last week about West Yorkshire entering the very high level of coronavirus measures.

I asked the Secretary of State twice last week whether the country was going into national lockdown and was told firmly no.

This latest government announcement, coming only two days after the announcement that Bradford and West Yorkshire was to enter Tier 3 very high restrictions, will understandably therefore be confusing for residents and businesses alike.

The infection rate is extremely high and our hospitals are getting an increasing number of admissions.

We are determined to work with our West Yorkshire partners to make sure we get the right support for our area so that we limit the damage these restrictions will cause for businesses and communities.

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