More English regions to face tougher COVID rules after lockdown ends

Woman walks through the Burlington Arcade adorned with Christmas decorations, in London

LONDON (Reuters) - England's tiered system of regional COVID restrictions will be toughened up when a national lockdown ends on Dec. 2 and some areas will move into a higher alert level than the one they were in before, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.

"I'm sorry to say we expect that more regions will fall, at least temporarily, into higher levels than before," Johnson said in a statement to parliament.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, writing by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Michael Holden)