Could Luton be moved into Tier 5 tomorrow?

As Luton and the rest of the county's Covid cases continue to spiral, we could be looking at even tougher restrictions, including the possibility of some schools closing and stricter limits on meeting other people outdoors.

Already experts are speculating whether a 'Tier 5' lockdown will be introduced in areas such as Luton, where rising infection rates have shown no signs of slowing down.

Top scientists have reportedly told Boris Johnson he needs to implement much stricter measures to stop the virus from escalating out of control, and the Government will be reviewing the tier status of the entire country tomorrow.

Their review will be based upon each area's infection rate and its hospital admission figures for Covid patients.

No official announcement about the possibility of new Tier 5 measures has yet been made, but experts predict the Government is looking closely at whether some schools or year groups should return to online learning at home.

Other options could include stricter limits on meeting others, as happened during the first lockdown in March. Residents were only allowed to leave home for certain reasons, and exercise was limited to one hour a day per person.

Travelling to holiday homes or second homes could also be banned, and hotels could be forced to close.

The Government has argued many of the rising infection rates could be due to a new mutant strain of Covid.

When the Tier 4 restrictions were imposed on December 19, the Government officially stated: "The latest analysis shows a strong correlation between areas with the most rapid rise of cases and prevalence of the new strain of Covid-19.

"Since the end of national restrictions, the situation in the South and East of England has deteriorated. New cases have continued to rise and hospital admissions have increased. Without urgent action this trend would continue at an increasingly rapid rate, leading to a rise in hospital admissions and deaths in the following two weeks and hitting the NHS at its busiest time of year."

There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate, or that it affects vaccines and treatments, but the latest NERVTAG analysis continues to indicate the variant is more transmissible than other strains.

Data to be assessed tomorrow will include how quickly case rates are going up or down, cases in the over 60s, pressure on the NHS and local circumstances.