VIRAL SPIKE
ANOTHER 18,980 people were diagnosed with coronavirus overnight and 138 more people lost their lives to the virus in one of the deadliest days since June.
It comes as HALF of Brits prepare for tough new lockdown measures.
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In total, 673,622 people in the UK have now been infected with Covid.
And the death toll has risen to numbers not seen since the beginning of June. On Tuesday, another 143 deaths were recorded - the highest total since June 3, when 155 people died.
The UK's death toll has now reached 43,293 - although separate figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there have now been 58,500 deaths registered where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
It comes as:
- Cops slapped a Liverpool gym owner with a £1,000 fine after he refused to close his business
- A Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph will be shut to the public for the first time in a century over fears coronavirus may spread through crowds
- Consultants are being paid £7,000 a day to work on the NHS Test and Trace programme
- There are curfews in France, bars are shut in Spain and Portugal has declared a 'state of calamity' amid a second wave in Europe
- Pub chain Marston's will slash more than 2,000 jobs after sales were badly hit by lockdown
In English hospitals, 81 more people lost their lives. Casualties were aged between 40 and 99, and all but three - aged between 67 and 86 - had known underlying health conditions.
In Scotland, 1,351 new cases were reported overnight, and 13 people died, while in Wales, 727 positive tests were recorded in 24 hours, while 10 people lost their lives.
Figures for Northern Ireland haven't yet been announced.
The new tolls were revealed as one in two Brits now face tighter restrictions under Boris Johnson's new three-tier lockdown system.
The strategy was announced just days ago - but already, millions of people between London and Northumberland are facing tougher laws in tiers two and three.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock added a number of new locations - including the capital - to the second tier today.
Essex, Elmbridge in Surrey, York, Chesterfield, Barrow-in-Furness, north-east Derbyshire and Erewash in east Derbyshire will also move into the second tier.
In total, another 26.7 million people will now be covered by the tier two restrictions.
It means they won't be able to see loved ones living in different households indoors - whether that's at home or in a restaurant.
Meanwhile, there's fury in the north after officials announced Manchester is set to join Liverpool in the toughest third tier.
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Gyms, leisure centres, betting shops, casinos and adult gaming centres have to shut their doors - and there'll be no extra funding from No10.
During a speech in the Commons announcing the new tier two measures, Matt Hancock said: "Responding to this unprecedented pandemic requires difficult choices, some of the most difficult choices any Government has to make in peacetime.
"We make these decisions with a heavy heart with the sole aim to steering our nation through troubled waters.
"Things will get worse before they get better but I know that there are brighter skies and calmer seas ahead."
England has seen a steep 64 per cent increase in coronavirus cases in just a week.
The latest Test and Trace figures reveal a total of 89,874 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England in the week to October 7.
It's the highest weekly number since Test and Trace was launched at the end of May.
Despite surging cases, Mr Johnson this week said a "circuit breaker" lockdown would be a "disaster" as he again slapped down Labour's demands for a UK-wide shutdown in a fiery PMQs.
The PM lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer for seeing the pandemic as a "good crisis to exploit" as he rejected his calls for a "circuit breaker" shutdown.
"We don't want to go there, we want a regional approach," Mr Johnson said.
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"Let's try to avoid the misery of another national lockdown."
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London mayor Sadiq Khan has also called for a short lockdown - and said the UK "needs action on a national scale".
But Chancellor Rishi Sunak last night warned that a national lockdown would cause an "economic emergency".
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock on changing coronavirus Tier restrictions for places across country
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