UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that England is to be placed into a strict month-long "circuit-break" lockdown.
Per Sky News, the new strict measures will begin on Thursday (November 5) and run through November until December 2. The new lockdown will see the closure of pubs, restaurants, and non-essential shops.
People from different households will also be banned from mixing, except for childcare and other forms of support.
Unlike throughout the lockdown over spring, schools and Universities will remain open.
Takeaways and other click-and-collect services can also remain open.
In addition, travel within the UK is highly discouraged - except for work purposes - and outbound international travel will be banned (with work, once again, being an exception).
The prime minister said that he is "truly sorry" to the businesses being affected by the pandemic and the increasingly strict measures, but added that the government's praised furlough scheme will be extended through November.
The announcement comes four months after the first nationwide lockdown came to an end.
Speaking at a news conference alongside England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty and the government's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Mr Johnson announced:
"Now is the time to take action, because there is no alternative."
Stressing the importance of protecting the National Health Service (NHS), the prime minister says the overrunning of the NHS would be a "moral disaster".
Doctors and nurses would be "forced to choose which patients to treat... who would live and who would die," he added.
As reported by BBC News, the news comes after the UK reported its one-millionth case of Covid-19 since the outbreak began.
Today (Saturday, October 31), the UK recorded another 21,915 coronavirus cases - bringing the total national total to 1,011,660.
In addition, another 326 people were reported to have died within 28 days of a positive test.
The country of Wales has been on a two-week "firebreak" lockdown since October 23, and earlier today, Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said in a Twitter thread:
"We urge everyone to comply with current restrictions, including on travel. People should not travel to or from level 3 areas in Scotland and for now, we are asking people not to travel to or from England at all, except for essential purposes."
In addition, the people of Nothern Ireland have been in a partial four-week lockdown since October 16, the BBC reports.