As it happened: Boris Johnson warns of tougher measures amid Covid surge - BBC News
Boris Johnson says regional restrictions in England are "probably about to get tougher".
The rapidly rising infection rates mean it should come as no surprise that tougher measures are being considered.

Infection levels are nearly four times higher now than they were at the start of December – and that in turn has put more pressure on hospitals.

There are signs the restrictions have started slowing the rises in London, the East of England and the South East. But that on its own is not enough. Ministers want to get cases down.

So what extra can be done? After all, most of England is effectively in lockdown already with tier four in place. Those places not in tier four could, of course, follow.

But many public health experts are warning more needs to be done.That’s why we have seen so much debate about schools in recent days.There is a determination to get primary school children back – they have among the lowest rates of infection if you look at symptomatic cases.

But infection rates are higher among secondary school-age children. The government has bought itself time by delaying their return.

It looks like there is going to be a very difficult trade-off that needs to be made between the damage to education and wellbeing of children and the risk of further spread of the virus.