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Boris Johnson is gathering cabinet ministers for a call as he prepares to introduce a new three-tier lock system.
The prime minister is briefing his senior team tonight and is expected to reveal his plan to impose stricter restrictions on parts of England tomorrow.
Under the blueprint, pubs and bars could be closed in areas of northern England placed at the strictest level.
And residents can be ordered not to have any social contact with anyone outside their home in any setting.
But MPs in Manchester have launched a final appeal to ministers not to close hospitality businesses and instead give them the power to close only those that are not COVID-19-sure.
They said such a closure measure would be “devastating” to jobs and a large number of cases, as most students are “confined” safely to residences.
Meanwhile, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick revealed some glimpses of what Johnson will say in a coronavirus update to parliament on monday.
It appeared to confirm a Sunday Times report that local leaders will be more involved in contact tracing, after repeated criticism of the number of people successfully contacted by Test and Trace.
He added that Johnson will present more guidance on travel, but that there are no plans for a “circuit breaker.”
Professor John Ashton, former Regional Director of Public Health England, said the three-tier approach “would have been the right path to start with, if we had had the proper testing and tracking.”
But first, “we need to re-close most of the country to try to regain control,” he told Sky News.
Professor Ashton added that the government had “stubbornly stuck to this private solution” of a more centralized test and trace program, but that signs that more powers will be handed over to local public health teams are welcome.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the council of Derry and Strabane in Northern Ireland has called for more government help for his region “very, very soon” as hospital admissions rise and hotel businesses suffer.
It is speculated that Northern Ireland could enter another total lockdown.
Brian Tierney told Sky News that the new plan announced by the chancellor this week was not good enough and that he fears “thousands and thousands” of job losses.
Recently, additional restrictions have emerged in the region after it recorded 584.7 weekly cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
“We need government intervention and we need it very, very soon,” said Tierney, who also called for “an all-island approach” that takes into account the communities across the border.
The UK recorded another 12,872 coronavirus cases on Sunday, with another 65 deaths bringing the total to 42,825.
The British are being urged to keep their distance, wash their hands and cover their faces in light of the figures, although more cases are inevitable as the number of tests increases sharply.
The country is already at “a turning point similar to where we were in March“Warned England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam.
“We can prevent history from repeating itself if we all act now,” he urged.
