More areas in England could be placed into Tier 4 restrictions - equivalent to a lockdown - as the variant COVID strain spreads across the country, the government's chief scientific adviser has suggested.
Anyone entering Greater Manchester or the West Midlands from Tier 4 areas and Wales should self-isolate for 10 days and "assume" they have the new COVID-19 variant, health officials have said.
Royal Mail has halted deliveries to Europe, except for the Republic of Ireland, due to a UK travel ban triggered by the discovery of a new faster spreading coronavirus strain.
As fears of a new coronavirus variant spread around the world, a growing list of countries are restricting travel with the UK, where it is rapidly spreading.
With the UK-France border closed to hauliers for the day, many exporters and importers have faced significant delays getting produce to and from mainland Europe.
