WHILE London faces Tier 3 restrictions, the North-East is yet to meet its fate. Cases have, however, risen in parts of the region. Here's what you need to know from the last 24-hours. 

A further 179 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths reported in hospitals to 44,464, NHS England said on Monday.

Patients were aged between 40 and 99. All except four, aged between 74 and 92, had known underlying health conditions.

The deaths were between December 5 to December 13. Seven other deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Here are the other Covid talking points you should know: 

Covid cases up in four North-East areas ahead of Tier 3 decision

Just days before a decision on whether the region will continue under Tier 3 restrictions, official data shows where has seen an upwards trend in cases.

In the seven days leading to December 8, four out of the 12 council areas in our region reported between a 2.1 per cent and 15.6 per cent rise in cases.

Areas in Tyne and Wear and on Teesside saw a rise in new cases, while the rest of the region has continued to see a fall. Read the full story here. 

London heads for Tier 3 

The capital will be placed under the strictest tier of local lockdown-style restrictions, according to MPs briefed by the Health Secretary.

Matt Hancock confirmed that London and parts of the South-East will go into Tier 3 restrictions in an address in the House of Commons.

He said that the action being taken is “absolutely essential”.

The North-East has been in Tier 3 since lockdown ended. 

New Covid strain 'increasing rapidly', Matt Hancock tells MPs

Matt Hancock said the numbers of the new variant of coronavirus “are increasing rapidly”.

The Health Secretary said: “Over the last few days, thanks to our world-class genomic capability in the UK, we have identified a new variant of coronavirus which may be associated with the faster spread in the South of England.”

There are currently 1,000 cases of the new variant in nearly 60 local authorities. Read more. 

Testing for Covid-19, if you don't have symptoms, is now available in Darlington

The mass testing programme for asymptomatic people has launched at the Dolphin Centre yesterday.

The community testing initiative, in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, has been launched to help drive down transmission rates. Roughly one in three people with the virus have no symptoms, so could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Read the full story here. 

Lib Dems ask whether Christmas rules should be reconsidered 

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Munira Wilson asked whether Matt Hancock should reconsider the easing of restrictions over the festive period which were previously announced by the Government.

She said: “My children are desperate to see their grandparents this Christmas, as is the case for many families up and down the country.

“But in view of these alarming numbers and with what we’re seeing in the US following Thanksgiving and with the constant chopping and changing of rules which leads to lower compliance and more confusion, I appreciate (Mr Hancock) doesn’t want to be the Grinch.

“But should he be reconsidering the Christmas measures that are in place or do we risk unnecessary additional deaths in the new year just as we’ve got light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine?”

Tiers "aren't working" says Covid recovery group

The Covid Recovery Group (CRG) of Conservative lockdown sceptics called on the Government to “end the devastating cycle of repeated restrictions” so people can “start living in a sustainable way again”.

CRG chairman Mark Harper said London and other parts of south-east England moving into Tier 3 “shows that the current strategy to combat Covid isn’t working”.

Nearly 500 new cases in the region 

There have been 483 new cases of coronavirus confirmed cases since the weekend in the North East and North Yorkshire.

The Government said a further 232 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 64,402.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 80,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government said that, as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 20,263 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 1,869,666.