PEOPLE in Scotland have been ordered to stay at home until the end of January as a new lockdown will be introduced at midnight tonight.

The public will have to stay at home until the end of January due to fears of the new, faster-spreading strain of the virus.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said a 'steeply rising trend of infections' was putting 'significant pressure' on the NHS.

Read here: Oxford man first in the world to get new vaccine 

This leads to the question of whether the rest of the UK will follow suit.

In England, currently, more than 78 per cent of the population, over 40 million people, are in the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions, tier 4.

Read also: What would a Tier 5 lockdown look like?

Tier 4 means that all non-essential shops are open, and people should only leave for essential journeys such as going to work or for education purposes.

Yet after the new announcement by the First Minister, it brings to questions whether tougher restrictions are yet to be put in place by Boris Johnson. 

This morning the Prime Minister said there was 'no question' that tougher restrictions were needed. 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also refused to rule out another national lockdown amid concerns the new variant coronavirus is spreading out of control.

Read more here: Matt Hancock 'not ruling out' national lockdown

He told Sky News this morning: “We don’t rule anything out, and we’ve shown repeatedly that we will look at the public health advice and we will take the public health advice in terms of what is needed to control the spread of the disease."