Swindon and Wiltshire will be plunged into tier 2 for Coronavirus restrictions when the national lockdown ends next week.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: "It is disappointing, but not surprising, that we find ourselves in a higher Tier than before. We have been planning for such an eventuality and we want to reassure residents and businesses that we are here to help them get through this.

"COVID-19 is still very prevalent and will be here for some time to come, so I advise everyone to keep social distancing, have good hand hygiene, wear a mask and self-isolate when required to do so. If we maintain that behaviour and everyone plays their part, then there's no reason why we can't move to the lowest Tier and then eventually get to the other side of this."

Here is what you can and cannot do under tier 2:

- People must not socialise with anyone they do not live with or who is not in their support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place.

- People must also not socialise in a group of more than six people outside, including in a garden or public space.

- Businesses and venues can remain open in a COVID secure manner, other than those which are closed by law.

- Pubs and bars must close, unless they are operating as restaurants.

- Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals.

- Hospitality businesses selling food or drink for consumption on their premises are required to provide table service only. In premises which sell alcohol, they need to close between 11pm and 5am with some exemptions, and stop taking orders after 10pm

- Education settings remain open

- Council services such as leisure centres and libraries will be able to open their doors to the public again. Leisure centres are due to open on 3 December and a date for libraries to reopen will be confirmed in due course. 

- Weddings and funerals can go ahead with restrictions on numbers of attendees - 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies and receptions, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, and 15 people can attend linked commemorative events.

- Outdoor street markets will be able to sell full range of items, not just food 

- Places of worship remain open, but people must not attend or socialise in groups of more than six people while there, unless there's a legal exemption.

Across England

Other tier 2 areas announced include Liverpool, London and Dorset

Just three areas will be in the lowest-level of restrictions - tier one - once lockdown ends after 2 December.

The Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly - where there have been no recorded cases in the past week - will be the only areas of England in tier one.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons: "Hope is on the horizon but we still have further to go. So we must all dig deep."

"We should see these restrictions not as a boundary to push but as a limit on what the public health advice says we can safely do in any area."