Boris Johnson said new restrictions for England would mean the whole of the UK was dealing with coronavirus in “pretty much the same way”.

The prime minister was speaking as he announced England would enter a circuit break lockdown next week, lasting until December 2.

He said: “The situation now is there is quite a degree of congruence between the whole of the UK in the sense that Northern Ireland and Wales have very similar arrangements already to the ones we are announcing tonight, Scotland has its five-tier system which also involves some pretty stringent measures.”

His comments came after First Minister Mark Drakeford reiterated that the firebreak lockdown in Wales, which came into force on October 23, will end on November 9.

The prime minister added that regular conversations were happening between the UK Government and devolved administrations.

He said: "We are dealing with this in pretty much the same way and every day there are constant discussions between the four chief medical officers and certainly on a political level."

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Professor Whitty said it was right that vulnerable people who were shielding during the previous lockdown continued to take extra precautions this time around, adding: “We learnt a lot from last time with the shielding programme – some of the things worked but some of the things did not.

“There were both some practical problems, and there was also the issue of people having significant problems with loneliness and feeling completely cut off from society.

“What we’re trying to do is avoid those downsides to shielding, whilst reinforcing the message that for people who are particularly vulnerable they do need to take even greater precautions than the general public.”

The restrictions will be similar to those introduced at the start of the pandemic in March, however this time schools and universities are expected to remain open.

People will still be able to exercise outdoors, and travel to work if they cannot work from home, though restrictions on international travel are likely to be introduced.

MPs will vote on the new measures before they are introduced at 00.01 on Thursday, and when they lapse, the current tier system will be reintroduced.

The introduction of national restrictions marks a dramatic shift in Government policy, as the Prime Minister has until now resisted pressure to reintroduce nationwide restrictions.

It comes after new data showed the extent of cases across England. The Office for National Statistics estimated that 568,100 people in households were infected with coronavirus in the week ending October 23.