But last night, Prime Minister Boris Jonson said that the best approach for the whole of the UK is "a national lockdown that is tough enough to contain this variant."
Our photographer NEIL CROSS went along to Preston city centre to see what difference the announcement had made.
1.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has addressed the nation on Monday in a televised speech which announced a strict national lockdown in order to attempt to supress coronavirus
2.
Johnson claimed that the new, faster spreading variant of Covid-19 is the reason that implementing previously successful approaches to supressing the virus has not worked this winter
3.
"Our hospitals are under more pressure than at any time during the pandemic," the Prime Minister said
4.
He explained that, on 29 December, more than 80,000 people tested positive for Covid across the UK - a new record. The UK will now move to alert level 5, meaning that, without intervention, the NHS could be overwhelmed within 21 days, according to the PM