Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to address the nation at around 6.30pm this evening after an alarming rise in infections across the country as a whole.

He is expected to announce a month-long national lockdown across England from Thursday of next week. The move, which Mr Johnson has been resisting for some time, comes as the number of cases of COVID-19 nationally since the start of the pandemic passes 1 million.

The BBC evening news suggested that this time schools and colleges will remain open but non-essential shops and pubs and restaurants will have to close, though takeaways will be allowed. The BBC also suggested people will only be allowed to meet one person from outside their household during the lockdown.

The Prime Minister will be holding the press conference with Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance. The press were originally told the announcement, coming after national newspapers pre-empted an announcement scheduled for Parliament on Monday, would be held at 4pm today, then 5pm and now it is set to be at ‘about 6.30pm’.

The reports that the Government was planning a national lockdown similar to the one in March emerged last night, after scientists warned Boris Johnson that without drastic action the number of COVID-19 cases could reach 4,000 a day and the NHS could be overwhelmed within weeks. The Prime Minister was warned that a lockdown was needed now if families were to enjoy some kind of get-together at Christmas.

Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme earlier this evening that the virus is ‘running riot’ across all age groups of the population. He said young women aged between 20 and 40 are said to be particularly affected due to their work roles putting them at greater risk of exposure to the virus.