Cornwall is to move into Tier 3 restrictions as of New Year's Eve.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has just finished speaking in the House of Commons about greater restrictions for almost all parts of the country.

He said almost all of the country will soon be in either Tier 3 or 4.

It has since been confirmed on the government website that Cornwall will be entering Tier 3 from Thursday, December 31.

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Mr Hancock said this was necessary due to a surge in cases in recent days, with the mutant variant of coronavirus spreading at a fast rate.

He said: "We must act to suppress the virus now.

"Over 21,000 people are in hospital with coronavirus.

"The threat to life from this virus is real and the pressures on the NHS are real too."

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The Isles of Scilly is the only place to be in Tier 1. 

Elsewhere in the south west, other places to move into Tier 3 as of one minute past midnight tomorrow are:

- Bath and North East Somerset

- Devon, Plymouth and Torbay 

- Dorset

- Wiltshire

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will be moving into Tier 4, as part of 23 new areas joining those in the south east that were already experiencing the toughest levels of restrictions. 

It means that around three quarters of the country will be in Tier 4 from tomorrow. 

However, Mr Hancock paid tribute to the team that has developed the Oxford vaccine, which has just been approved, saying it showed Britain was a "life sciences superpower."

Medical experts have spoken today of the hope that this vaccine - which does not have to be stored at the same low temperatures as the Pfizer jab - can be rolled out much more quickly, covering far larger sections of the population. 

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