Oxford vaccine professor leads warnings about the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas

Naman Ramachandran Some 44 million people, 78% of England’s population, will be under Tier 4, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions, from Thursday, U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced in the House of Commons on Wednesday.Greater London and its surrounding areas are already in Tier 4.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester and even more areas of England are set to be moved to Tier 4 restrictions from tomorrow.Matt Hancock announce the latest tier review in the House of Commons today, and the new rules will take effect from Thursday December 31. Tier 4 is currently the highest level of Covid-19 measures that can be allocated to an area - with much of the south east and London already under the toughest rules.

direct to your inbox More areas of England - including Greater Manchester - are bracing themselves for tougher Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester will move into Tier 4 under a review of the government's Covid-19 restrictions.The Health Secretary made the announcement on the region's move into the tightest set of measures today (Wednesday).Matt Hancock addressed the House of Commons this afternoon to announce changes to local restrictions as infection rates continue to rise across England.Tier 4 is currently the toughest tier and includes the closure of non-essential shops closed and stricter rules on

direct to your inbox A man has died after being hit by a car in Middleton on Christmas Eve. The 30 year-old pedestrian was involved in a collision with a grey BMW 320i M Sport on Rochdale Road just after 7.30pm on Thursday, December 24.Emergency services raced to the scene he was rushed to hospital in a serious condition.

direct to your inboxA family is trying to track down the person behind a kindhearted random act of kindness.An envelope with a £5 note inside had been left in the car park of Asda in Chadderton on Christmas Eve.Inside the envelope, which had a Christmas tree drawn on it, the card read: "To whoever has found this, I hope you have a lovely Christmas, treat yourself."Keep smiling, there is light at the end of the tunnel!Get the latest updates from across Greater Manchester direct to your inbox with

direct to your inboxFor many women working the streets of Manchester during the coronavirus pandemic, clients have been their only regular human contact.With the city under lockdown these women were forced to seek help through windows or over Facetime, instead of speaking to someone sitting across from them.This not only had a ‘noticeable’ impact on the mental wellbeing of some sex workers, but it also affected those reaching out to help from Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH).But for one

direct to your inboxLike this entire year, Christmas Day in 2020 is anything but normal.It's a restricted, and for some quite sad time.But Greater Mancunians did have something to smile about today...

straight to your inbox every day for freeThere's no rest for Manchester United, who were last to play on Wednesday night and are first to kick off on Boxing Day. That gives Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad little time to prepare for a tough test at Leicester tomorrow, let alone fit in a proper Christmas Day with the family.

direct to your inboxMost of us are hoping for a peaceful and healthy Christmas.But there will be some people who in need over a coronavirus test over the festive period, even on Christmas Day.There will be more than 50 Covid-19 testing sites open in Greater Manchester over Christmas and New Year.These include the regional test centres at the Etihad Campus and Manchester Airport, and local testing sites in each of the 10 boroughs.Health leaders say some of the sites will have reduced opening

direct to your inboxA man in a Manchester United mask stands alone with his holdall bag in an empty, closed check-in hall. His story is anything but festive.He tells me he he left home following a row with his girlfriend and decided to jet off on a flight abroad on a whim.But now that he is in Manchester Airport with no ticket, he just wants to get back home to east Manchester.Last year I visited the airport on December 24 to capture the heartwarming moment couples reunited for the festive

America’s future First Dogs delivered season’s greetings to people across the U.S. on Christmas Eve.

direct to your inboxDreaming of a white Christmas?Sadly, forecasters have predicted there will be no snow on Christmas Day this year.But the Met Office has said Greater Manchester is likely to see widespread frosty conditions that will bring a 'seasonal feel' to festivities on the day.Temperatures across most of the country will stay in mid-single figures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but no snow is expected to settle, Met Office forecasters have predicted.They said that despite a wet

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola has said that Kevin De Bruyne is too important to rest over the Christmas period. The Manchester City midfielder, who picked up another gong on Thursday to recognise his outstanding level over the past 18 months, started the West Brom game just days after the derby with United.

After her fiancé Bradley Dack branded her The Grinch, Olivia Attwood decided to give the footballer a festive surprise by giving their flat a Christmas makeover. With the help of Lasting Memories Weddings & Events, Olivia transformed their Manchester flat into Santa’s Grotto complete with two giant Christmas trees, festive garlands and stunning decorations.

Ramones festive track ‘Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)’.The song, which originally featured on the New York band’s 1989 album ‘Brain Drain, has been reworked into a more downbeat version by the Manchester trio.

direct to your inboxCouncils across Greater Manchester have outlined their plans for bin collections over Christmas and the New Year.With Christmas Day and New Year’s Day falling on bank holidays this year, many town halls are having to change their schedules.Bins are being collected in the days leading up to - and after both days - though the exact dates differ from borough to borough.All councils are still urging residents to keep recycling food, cardboard and paper and other recyclable items

direct to your inboxThe UK's coronavirus vaccine roll-out is now well underway with 'tens of thousands' of jabs already administered to those most vulnerable, according to the government.A vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford has been a front-runner in the global race to produce a vaccine against Covid-19 since early this year.But it was a jab from American firm Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech that became the first vaccine to be approved for use in the UK.The vaccine was