Covid: PM leads briefing as millions in England face tough curbs - BBC News
PM says England faces a hard winter as bans on household mixing indoors are set to replace lockdown.
PM: This is not continuing the lockdown

Laura Kuenssberg, political editor at BBC News, asks what the point of the national lockdown was if people are now moving to tougher restrictions. Boris Johnson replies it is "very important" for everyone to understand that "this is not continuing the lockdown," with shops, hairdressers, gyms and places of worship among the venues reopening. "This is a very different thing," he adds. "What we have to do is keep eyes on the prize. In a few months we will have a vaccine, I'm absolutely convinced of it now. "By April things will generally be much, much better." He warns of relaxing too much now - taking our "foot off the throat of the beast" - when we are in a "much better place" than before the national lockdown. There are long months ahead but we are not abandoning the fight, he says. He stresses there is now option of mass testing, especially for tier-three communities "who feel they have endured so much for so long". Whitty is asked why more areas were not moved to tier three - and he replies that the government was keen to do enough to keep the R below one - but not to do anything unnecessary.