⁍ Britain announces wider coronavirus restrictions on Monday which will take the number of people under England’s highest category of alert to nearly 8 million.

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⁍ Number of new COVID cases has risen by almost a quarter over the past week to 153,483.

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⁍ New COVID deaths were 50% higher than the week before at 1,272, taking fatalities over the course of the pandemic to 44,998.

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– The number of cases of the West Nile virus in the UK has spiked by more than a quarter over the past week, with the number of new cases up 50% to 153,483 and the number of new deaths up 50% to 44,998, the highest in Europe, Reuters reports. The number of new cases in England has risen from 7 million to more than 7 million over the past few weeks, and today the government announced that Warrington in northwest England has been classified as the highest Tier 3 alert level, the first area outside northern England to do so. Under the new restrictions, people from different households are no longer allowed to socialize outdoors, and pubs and bars that don’t serve food must shut. Schools, shops, and restaurants in England are allowed to stay open, unlike the first lockdown in March and April. Other parts of the United Kingdom have imposed stricter curbs than Britain’s central government, which only has direct control over health policy in England. Wales has shut all non-essential retailers, pubs, and restaurants in a 17-day lockdown which began on Friday, and Scotland has severe curbs on hospitality across most of the country. Pubs, restaurants, and hairdressers are also closed in Northern Ireland until Nov. 13.