NEW lockdown restrictions have come into force across Cheshire West and Chester today (October 14) which bans households from mixing indoors.

The Government's proposed three-tiered system of local 'COVID Alert Levels' was approved by MPs yesterday evening without the need for a formal vote.

The levels are set at medium, high, and very high.

Cheshire West and Chester has been put in the high level, also known as 'tier two'.

The new rules prevent more than one household from mixing with another in any indoor setting – including private homes, pubs and restaurants.

Support bubbles can continue to meet as one household under the new restrictions.

In outdoor settings, including private gardens and parks, the ‘rule of six’ will continue to apply – meaning gatherings will be restricted to no more than six.

The 10pm curfew will also continue for bars, pubs and restaurants.

Meanwhile, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford stressed that his request for the UK Government to restrict people from areas in England with high levels of coronavirus from travelling into places with lower levels is "not a border issue".

People in areas of Wales under local lockdown restrictions are not able to travel to other parts of the country without a reasonable excuse, which does not include a holiday.

"It is a simple, straightforward, practical action that prevents the flow of the virus out of areas where there is a great deal of it into areas where there is very little of it, and I’m baffled why the Prime Minister continues to resist this idea," Mr Drakeford told Sky News.

"All we’re asking is for fair play, for people in high volume areas outside Wales not being able to do things that people in Wales who live in high coronavirus areas are already prevented from doing."