LONDON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said that Greater Manchester will move into Tier Three, the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions, from midnight on Thursday.
The prime minister, speaking during a virtual press conference at Downing Street, said that Greater Manchester will receive a support package of 22 billion pounds (about 28.48 billion U.S. dollars).
The Tier Three restrictions will see closure of pubs and bars in the region unless they serve substantial meals.
Betting shops, casinos, bingo halls, adult gaming centers and soft play areas will also shut down while different households will be banned from mixing indoors and outdoors, including in private gardens.
The latest development came after the British government and Manchester leaders failed to agree on extra funding.
Earlier Tuesday, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said at a press briefing that local leaders were not offered enough support to protect people heavily affected by the restrictions as businesses close down.
"That is what we believe we needed to prevent poverty, to prevent hardship, to prevent homelessness," Burnham said.
The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 241 to 43,967, the highest daily death toll since June, according to official figures released Tuesday.
The latest death toll brought the total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 to 43,967, the official figures revealed.
Meanwhile, another 21,331 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 762,542, the data showed.
To bring life back to normal, countries, such as Britain, China, Russia and the United States, are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines. Enditem