THE North-East is expected to face changes to lockdown rules in coming days as the Health Secretary Matt Hancock last night warned Britain was at a "perilous moment" in the pandemic. 

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ministers were considering a "range of options" on new restrictions on pubs and restaurants in the North.

At the time, a spokesperson for the PM said preliminary data showed there is "significant" exposure of Covid-19 in hospitality settings with cases rising faster in the North-East and North-West.

But what do we know about the new restrictions so far? We've put together everything that the Government is expected to announce and what it means for our region. 

What is being announced?

It is understood major changes to restrictions will be announced on Monday - these are expected to include.

- Pub closures in 'Covid hotspots'

The Government is reportedly planning to order the closure of pubs in Covid hotspots, with ministers considering fresh financial packages to gelp the hardest hit areas and industries.

READ MORE: Covid: Support for hospitality to be announced today as more North-East pubs close

- Stricter lockdown measures for 'Covid hotspots'

Leaked Government disclosed show that a new three-tier system for restrictions in England will be announced on Monday, before measures come in on Wednesday.

There will be three set of lockdown rules, designed to simplify the current system where local lockdown rules vary by council area.

Under the new 'three-tier' system areas that fall into tier one, which have fewer than 100 cases per 100,000 population, would have to stick to national restrictions. 

It is understood that these restrictions would include the "rule of six" and continuation of social distancing measures. 

Areas that fall into tier two, which is where cases are above 100 per 100,000 population, would see restrictions similar to those that have been imposed in the North-East.

This would include a ban on households meeting with other households in any indoor setting, something which the majority of the North-East is not allowed to do.

The final tier, the most stringent of the restrictions, would apply to areas with extremely high rates of Covid-19 with full lockdowns imposed.

READ MORE:How the North-East could look under proposed "three-tier" lockdown system

Analysis of the data shows that no areas in the North-East would likely fall into tier one - as Covid-19 rates are all above 100 cases per 100,000 people.

How did we get here?

Last night, Downing Street said a "range of options" were being considered after the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Covid situation was becoming "very serious".

Some 17,540 lab-confirmed cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the UK as of 9am on Thursday, while new figures showed 1,000 more people are in hospital with the virus in England compared to a week ago.

Matt Hancock said he was “worried” about the growth in the number of cases in parts of the country.

He said he was most concerned about parts of Yorkshire, the North-West and North-East, as well as areas of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What the experts have said

Professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said the north of England is “not that far away from the health service being stretched”.

“Because even if we turn the epidemic around now, infections that occur today won’t go to hospital for another week or two,” he added.

What Downing Street has said

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman told a Westminster briefing on Thursday: “We are seeing coronavirus cases rise across the entire country but they are rising faster in the North East and the North West.

“We are keeping the data under close review and we are considering a range of options to reduce the spread of the virus in order to protect communities and to protect the NHS.”

He suggested new restrictions on hospitality could be introduced in England as ministers come under pressure to act after Scotland announced fresh restrictions on the hospitality sector.

“Early data does suggest that a significant proportion of exposure to the virus is seen in the hospitality sector, and that is even more pronounced in younger age groups where we have been seeing the most rapid rise in infections,” the spokesman said.

“The data is new and we will continue to gather evidence and review it.”

He added he is not yet in a position to publish it.