Boris Johnson announcement: Wakefield likely to be placed in a Tier Two lockdown - here's what it means

This means the city has been deemed a high-risk category of the three-tier 'traffic light' system, which was drawn up by Downing Street to try and stop the spread of Covid-19 and stop the infection rate from rising.

The level Tier Two restrictions prohibit people from different households from mixing indoors, although up to six people from different households will still be allowed to meet up outside.

It will also see pubs and restaurants, along with gyms, still being allowed to open up until the 10pm curfew that's currently in place.

The announcement for the district comes after a COBRA meeting was held this morning in which the details of the proposed three-tier lockdown system were finalised.

At around 6pm, today, Boris Johnson will host a televised press conference alongside Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to address the public and answer questions.

“This is a critical juncture and it is absolutely vital that everyone follows the clear guidance we have set out to help contain the virus,” Downing Street said.

What is the current infection rate in Wakefield?

According to Government's Covid-19 figures, Wakefield is seeing around 115 people per day testing positive.

The total to date is 3,854.

What is the Three-Tier lockdown?

In an effort to address the rising infection rates, the PM is introducing a three-tier system for local lockdowns, which would see different parts of England placed into different categories.

Areas in England are set to be labelled as medium, high or very high risk, depending on their infection rates, which will inform the “appropriate interventions” needed in each area.

Areas that fall into “medium” are likely to continue to follow national restrictions, such as the "rule of six" and social distancing.

Those in “high”, such as the Wakefield district, will have restrictions to be similar to those currently in place in large parts of northern England, including bans on household meetings.

Areas placed into “very high” would include those with significantly higher infection rates and will likely face a full lockdown, which would see pubs, cafes and restaurants forced to close.