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The areas of southern England have moved to different levels before Christmas.
A total of 36 local authorities will go up or down one level starting Saturday, but most will go up to Level 3 as cases increase.
The decision comes after London and parts of Hertfordshire and Essex were placed under the highest level of restrictions earlier this week.
People in Herefordshire will be under the least stringent restrictions even though the COVID-19 situation is similar to places that have remained Level 2, such as Dorset.
There was confusion among MPs after some areas changed levels while others with similar numbers of the five criteria that the government did not change.
Former Minister Steve Baker, Vice President of the COVID Recovery Group of Conservatives Skeptical of the Lockdown, said: “After a complete and damaging national lockdown, millions of people and businesses across the country are facing tighter restrictions.
“The government must urgently clarify what the criteria are for moving areas between levels, and especially down.”
Initially, the government grouped entire counties after a warning from SAGE, the government’s scientific advisers, about “edge effects” – that is, people moving between areas and spreading the virus.
That included Kent, who despite being at Level 3 since December 2, has some of the worst numbers in England, prompting Hancock to warn people in Kent to “behave as if they have the virus. “.
But now, Hancock has said, “We are prepared to move to a more localized level where the data and human geographies allow.”
This has angered MPs and local leaders whose areas have remained at a higher level as a county, while other areas have been divided.
Waverley is the only area in Surrey that avoids going to Level 3, while only Gosport, Havant and Portsmouth in Hampshire, and only Hastings and Rother in East Sussex will go to Level 3.
All of Greater Manchester has remained at Level 3, despite improvement in some districts.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 Conservative Backbenchers Committee and MP for Greater Manchester, questioned what else the region could do to get out of Level 3.
“The statement will be greeted with dismay in Greater Manchester, where we have had severe restrictions for nine months, where in nine of the 10 counties rates are below the national average,” he said.
The government has said that the newer tiered system, which started on December 2, is based on: infection rates at all ages, infection rates in those over 60, rate of increase or decrease in cases, rate of positivity (percentage of positive tests) and NHS pressure.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has said that any increase of more than 25% compared to the April peak is cause for concern – only London is below that threshold.
However, Mr. Hancock appeared to add to the criteria on Thursday, after saying, “While each metric is important in its own right, the interaction between each indicator for a given area is equally important, so a strict numerical threshold and fast on each metric is not appropriate. “
The law requires the government to review levels at least every 14 days, so the next review will be on December 30.
