This is the exact time national lockdown ends on 2 December - and what happens next

With Christmas fast approaching, all eyes are fixed on the UK government to see if the second national lockdown - introduced to control the spread of Covid - will end in December.

It has nearly been two weeks since prime minister Boris Johnson introduced the latest round of restrictions to combat rising coronavirus infections and hospital admissions across England.

The PM had come under heavy pressure during October and early November to introduce stricter measures on society as daily case figures were consistently surpassing 20,000.

Leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, weighed in on the argument by calling for a short lockdown or “circuit breaker” to reduce the level of infections and prevent “a bleak winter”.

This was at a time when a new three-tier system for Covid restrictions in England was approved by MPs. The system placed each area of the country into a medium, high or very high alert category - each with their own set of restrictions for people to follow.

But as national numbers continued to rise the government implemented a second national lockdown, which the PM stated would last for only four weeks.

What are the lockdown rules for England?

In the main, the restrictions are designed to limit transmission of the virus while it’s still in circulation among society and reduce the R-rate to below 1.

As well as the general advice around washing hands, wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing, there are a handful of other key restrictions to be aware of.

The lockdown puts a temporary ban on different households from mixing indoors or in private gardens, unless it is part of a support bubble; forces pubs and restaurants to close, allowing takeaways; and sees non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues close.

People are encouraged to stay at home, only leaving for specific reasons such as education, work and food shopping, while schools, universities and colleges remain open.