WHILE much of the country may have been distracted with Rishi Sunak's Spending Review, councils have grappled with the potential of being placed in the highest Covid tier on December 2. 

Here's everything you need to know from the last 24-hours.

  • NHS Trust leaders say they would "appreciate the support of the Teesside population to help drive down the rate of infection"

Leaders from a Teesside health care organisation have united in poetic voice to ask the region to continue to work hard in protecting themselves, their loved ones and the NHS.

As the government announced plans for a potential relaxation in rules for the festive period, with a new tiered system set to be revealed today, trust leaders say they continue to face great pressures and would appreciate the support of the Teesside population to help drive down the rate of infection.

In a reflective video of their unusual year to date, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust leaders thanks the public, and ask them once more to remain vigilant. Read the full story here.

  • New Covid-19 testing site at Teesside University - but it's not for the public​

Teesside University will be part of a new testing programme using lateral flow tests which could lead to faster, more widespread testing nationwide, as part of the Government’s UK-wide continuing drive to increase the availability of mass testing.

The university will be working closely with NHS Test and Trace to offer students free Lateral Flow tests, so that students without symptoms, who may be infectious but unaware, are able to get tested and asked to self-isolate if they are.

Lateral Flow tests can produce results more quickly than the current PCR tests used across the NHS to test those with symptoms. Read more.

  • Covid: Scientists warn third wave could be on the way​

Easing coronavirus restrictions over Christmas could lead to a third wave of the pandemic and another lockdown, scientists have warned.

Boris Johnson has told families they must make a "personal judgment" about the risks of coronavirus to vulnerable loved ones when forming a Christmas bubble.

The Prime Minister urged the public to "think carefully" over the festive period after it was confirmed that three households will be able to mix from December 23 to 27.

The UK Government and devolved administrations have agreed a joint plan to relax social distancing rules over the festive period, allowing friends and family to hug for the first time in months. Read more here.

  • Manchester likely to be Tier 3

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said it was “more likely than not” the area would be made subject to Tier 3 restrictions.

Speaking at an online press conference, he said: “We don’t know what tier we will be in, that still has not been communicated to us. I think it is fair to say we are heading at some speed to Tier 3, Tier 2 borderline, given the figures.”

He said although infection numbers in Greater Manchester were still high, the rates were falling.

Mr Burnham said he did not agree with the Tier 3 measures which had been put forward by the Government.

  • Could Lancashire be split in half to avoid wide-spread Tier 3 restrictions?

Lancashire’s council leaders have submitted a proposal to the Government to divide the county into two different tiers when the lockdown ends next week.

A request has been made for Hyndburn, Rossendale, Burnley, Pendle and Preston to go into Tier 3 restrictions while Fylde, Wyre, Lancaster, Chorley, South Ribble, Ribble Valley and West Lancashire would go into Tier 2.

  • The UK has recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the beginning of May, official data released yesterday shows.

A further 696 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Wednesday, according to the Government’s coronavirus dashboard.

This is the highest daily total since 726 deaths were reported on May 5, but a mid-week rise can be due to delays in reporting deaths over the weekend.

These figures are not the number of people who have died in a single day but the number of deaths reported in the past 24 hours.

The latest data brings the UK’s total number of people to have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test to 56,533.

This cumulative total is one less than expected due to the removal of a previously reported duplicate death by Public Health Wales.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been 72,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The Government said that, as of 9am on Wednesday, there had been a further 18,213 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK.

There were a further 1,758 reported in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

The breakdown by local authority in the region was:

County Durham: 18,486 was 18,220 – an increase of 266

Darlington: 3,168 was 3,074 - an increase of 94

Gateshead: 7,551 was 7,458 – an increase of 93

Hartlepool: 3,739 was 3,681 – an increase of 58

Middlesbrough: 5,413 was 5,352 – an increase of 61

Newcastle: 15,337 was 15,157 – an increase of 180

North Tyneside: 6,467 was 6,349 – an increase of 118

North Yorkshire: 12,840 was 12,614 – an increase of 226

Northumberland: 8,046 was 7,861 – an increase of 185

Redcar and Cleveland: 4,384 was 4,332 – an increase of 52

South Tyneside: 5,488 was 5,388 – an increase of 100

Stockton: 7,271 was 7,149 – an increase of 122

Sunderland: 10,701 was 10,556 – an increase of 145

York: 5,547 was 5,489 – an increase of 58

Total increase: 1,758