millions of people in england will face tougher coronavirus restrictions from this weekend — with no household mixing indoors. london and some surrounding areas will move from the "medium" to "high" alert level — but there's still no agreement about greater manchester. in other areas, currently on the second tier, where discussions are ongoing, no further decisions have yet been made, but we want to make rapid progress. discussions were held this morning about moving greater manchester into the highest level — but local leaders say they need a better financial deal. there was unanimous fury on that call about the process, about the evidence base, and about the economic support packages on the table. we want action, but it has

to be the right action. we'll have the latest on what it means, wherever you live. also this lunchtime: the latest test and trace figures for england show the highest number of positive cases since the system was launched in may. the pub chain marston‘s is to cut more than 2000 jobs, saying it's been badly hit by the coronavirus restrictions. and the queen carries out her first engagement outside a royal residence for seven months. and coming up on bbc news, england manager gareth southgate says he fully backs harry maguire, despite the defender‘s red card in england's defeat against denmark.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. millions of people across england face tougher coronavirus restrictions from this weekend. however, there's still uncertainty as to whether greater manchester will be placed in the highest level of alert. a call between local leaders and downing street this morning ended without agreement. the health secretary matt hancock told the commons in the last hour that there needs to be rapid progress on the issue. the region is currently on the "high" alert level. a move to the "very high" level would see pubs closed, and different households banned from mixing, either indoors or outdoors. it was decided this morning that people in london, essex, parts of surrey and derbyshire, alongside york and barrow—in—furness, will face tougher restrictions from this weekend — with a ban on households mixing indoors. 0ur political correspondent

helen catt has the latest. by helen catt has the latest. the weekend, more thar population by the weekend, more than half the population of england will be living under extra coronavirus restrictions. in london, that means another 9 million people being moved on too high alert. it is my expectation that the government will today announce that london will shortly be moving into tier two of the high alert level of restrictions. i've had a meeting this morning that the secretary of state for health as well as london leaders and scientific advisers. state for health as well as london leaders and scientific advisersm means by saturday there will be bans in place or meeting friends and family anywhere indoors in most of england's major cities and across essex, york, north—east derbyshire, barrow in furness, and elmbridge in surrey, and matt one. we must take firm, balanced decisions to keep this virus under control. this is the only way to protect lives and

livelihoods. we must act now. delayed action means more deaths from covid, more non—disease—macro deaths and more economic pain later because the virus comes down slower thanit because the virus comes down slower than it goes up. local leaders have backed moving on to high alert in some places. but downing street could face a tougher call in areas under those restrictions that it wa nts to under those restrictions that it wants to move to very high. in other areas currently on the second tier, where discussions are ongoing, no further decisions have yet been made but we need to make rapid progress. a meeting between number ten and local leaders in greater manchester failed to reach a decision on whether or not to move it onto very high alert. it would mean pubs and bars would have to shut completely and no household mixing at all apart from in places like parks. downing street wa nts from in places like parks. downing street wants it to happen, local leaders don't agree. there was unanimous fury about the process, about the evidence base and about

the economic support packages on the table. we want action, but it has to be the right action because we have lived in tier two now for three months and it has not worked. ultimately the government can just impose restrictions on an area but it is thought they will be more effective if local leaders back then and now that labour is pushing for a short national lockdown that the scientific advisers recommended there is even greater pressure on there is even greater pressure on the government to show that its decision to go for a different what it says is more balanced plan, will work. the government has offered a package of support to areas where it wa nts package of support to areas where it wants stronger restrictions. it hopes to bring local leaders on side, ahead of what will be a tough time foran side, ahead of what will be a tough time for an increasing number of people. helen kat, bbc news. so let's remind you of what the new covid alert levels in england mean. until today, most of england had been put on the "medium" alert level, where the rule of six and the 10pm hospitality curfew both apply. the "high" level of restrictions

mean no household mixing indoors, and the rule of six applying outdoors. the most severe alert level is called "very high", meaning no mixing of households indoors or outdoors. pubs and bars will close unless they provide what's called "a substantial meal". millions of londoners will face new restrictions from midnight tomorrow, the capital and essex will move into that middle tier, banning any mixing of households indoors, moving to high level, and the london mayor sadik khan said that the virus is spreading rapidly in every corner of the city and that the new measures are vital to save lives. 0ur correspondent anna 0'neill reports. it was like piccadilly circus, in fa ct, it was like piccadilly circus, in fact, it was. when pubs and clubs shut at ten p m last weekend people continued their night out on the street until police moved them on.

like other london venues, the soho clu b like other london venues, the soho club gay has sacrificed much to stay open and the announcement today is adding more confusion as to what the new measures will mean. what we need is for the government to work with hospitality, work with other businesses, to make everybody safe, but to make things workable, and this tier two regulations are com pletely this tier two regulations are completely unworkable but nobody is working with us to make it workable. london's coronavirus cases are on the rise and the london mayor says that moving into tier two is right. nobody wants to see more restrictions, but this is deemed to be necessary, in order to protect londoners like myself, by myself, and london council leaders. at least temperatures london boroughs are above the threshold. in ealing there are more than 144 cases per 100 and

thousand people, enrichment, more than 137, and thousand people, enrichment, more than137, and in thousand people, enrichment, more than 137, and in hackney, more than 128. in greenwich, there were 73 cases per 100,000, and 128. in greenwich, there were 73 cases per100,000, and in 128. in greenwich, there were 73 cases per 100,000, and in bromley, just 70. bexley has the fewest cases of covid—19 but council leader agrees that going into the highest risk tier is for the best. it became a case of when, not if, and hopefully, by going in that bit earlier, we can turn it around. for others the measures do not go far enough. some politicians would like to see a short nationwide lockdown. if we don't act with determination, it is going to get worse, that's why liberal democrats, having read the advice from the sage experts believe that now is the time for a short national circuit—breaker. that now is the time for a short national circuit-breaker. that is not going to happen for now, but further local restrictions across the uk haven't been ruled out. anna o'neill, bbc the uk haven't been ruled out. anna

0'neill, bbc news. so the government and local leaders in greater manchester and lancashire have failed to reach agreement about the level of restrictions. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is in bolton. yes, so, this part of greater manchester, the whole of the greater manchester, the whole of the greater manchester region was put into tier two yesterday but there was an expectation that quickly they would have to move to tier three because of rising case numbers. that was expected to be agreed at a meeting between local leaders and the government this morning but there is no such agreement yet partly because of the level of support on offer for workers disrupted by the closures that would be necessary under the highest levels of restriction, tier three, and let me read you a bit from sean fielding, the leader of 0ldham council down from sean fielding, the leader of 0ld ham council down the from sean fielding, the leader of 0ldham council down the road. he said the greater manchester meeting just now was a masterclass in how not to do it. he said the opening line from the government was we either do tier three with you or we will impose it, and he has raised

the possibility that the support isn't there, for workers, and that's why they haven't been able to agree so why they haven't been able to agree so far. the council leader here in bolton had this to say to us a little earlier. there is a stalemate, you can say, between local leaders and local mps who feel there are parts of tier 3 that are unacceptable. and that includes, particularly for me, the closure of hospitality and the unfortunate lack of additional financial help, which is needed to sustain that sector. well, other parts being considered for tier three include most of the rest of lancashire. there are concerns there about rising case numbers and the need for further restrictions. but still that hasn't been agreed either yet today so people left wondering, they are. i was speaking to people in blackburn this morning said they didn't think extra restrictions were needed. if, we need to have restrictions to

make people understand and stay safe then that is what it is, that's what we need. that's notjust one, that is every age group. if all uk was the same we would have less cases. you know what you are getting, then, don't you, but if they keep coming back and going down the virus will go back and going down the virus will 9° up back and going down the virus will go up again, really, won't it? the expectation is that there is further restrictions will come in right across lancashire and greater manchester. they have been calling out for extra restrictions but the sticking point is the level of support on offer for workers, and that seems to be why agreement hasn't been possible between local leaders and government, yet, but it looks inevitable there will be further restrictions and that this pa rt further restrictions and that this part of the country will join liverpool in that highest tier and we could part of the country will join liverpool in that highest tier advocacy the further restrictions extend to other parts of the country

by early next week. 0ur political correspondent iain watson is in westminster. i think people watching this lunchtime might be forgiven for finding it hard to keep up. that's right. that is a consequence of the regional, localised approach the government is adopting. boris johnson said no to a new national lockdown or even many lockdown, what is called a circuit—breaker, but that means getting involved in lots of discussions with different parts of discussions with different parts of the country and of course there's different parts of the country moving into different tiers. looking at the big picture, the situation is that although the government is not imposing a national lockdown, half the population of england from one minute past midnight on saturday morning will be living under enhanced restrictions, at least the ban on households meeting indoors, u nless ban on households meeting indoors, unless they are part of a support bubble. the main difficulty it seems to me for the government is trying

to me for the government is trying to get some local authorities to move from tier two to tier three, the very high alert level, when pubs closed. there was a virtual meeting this morning between greater manchester mps and the health and social care minister helen whately, and i'm told it did not go well, the government had managed to unite all city against them, conservative and mps opposing a move into tier three. if that goes ahead without local support, then local —— why some people are suggesting that unless the public and local authorities buy m, the public and local authorities buy in, it may not be something to drive down the virus, and that is something that will be concentrating minds in downing street this afternoon. iain watson there in westminster. and wherever you are across the uk, if you want to check the rules in your area now, you can search by postcode. that's on our website, bbc.co.uk/news, or via the bbc news app. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, has said the restrictions on household gatherings will remain in place

as the country is at what she called a "critical and precarious point" in the pandemic. she's announced that face coverings will be mandatory from tomorrow in workplace canteens and corridors. the first minister said 286 cases in scotland were found to have stemmed from visits to blackpool — and said a travel ban, similar to that imposed in wales, is being considered. although we have put in place tough measures, we cannot rule out having to go further in future. for example, the approach to travel being adopted by the welsh government to inhibit the spread of the virus from high to low prevalence areas notjust within each of the four uk nations but were necessary between the four uk nations needs to be considered here, too, and is being considered here, too. as we consider these issues and plan future steps and were necessary emergency action, we will seek to

ensure that parliament is fully informed and involved in these decisions. nicola sturgeon. the latest test and trace figures for england show the highest number of positive cases since the system was launched in may. nearly 90,000 people tested positive in the week to the seventh 0ctober — a 64% increase on the previous week. let's speak to the bbc‘s head of statistics, robert cuffe. it seems some parts of the system are coping, but others, less so. the most important number looks like it is moving in right direction, testing turnaround time is getting shorter. last week just testing turnaround time is getting shorter. last weekjust over a quarter of people who went to a walk in drive—through centre got test results back within 24 are us. this it has gone up to almost one third, so it has gone up to almost one third, so moving in the right direction. when it comes to contact tracing, this extra lot of people coming through the system, it is still

reaching about the same proportion, just over three quarters of people are getting reached and asked for contact. that seems to be holding up well despite the addition of an extra lot of people, whose results have been temporarily held up by a spreadsheet error, they have been added to the system too and it seems to be holding up was probably the more worrying side is when you get to the contacts of those people. if there is an outbreak in a factory or office, they go in and reach almost 90 something % of people but if i test positive in the community and name somebody who doesn't live with me the success rate then is much lower, instead kind of around 62%, the lowest figure since june. lower, instead kind of around 62%, the lowest figure sincejune. so broadly speaking there is an element that the system is holding up but the scientist to pick advisers are saying that it is having a marginal effect, and transmission. it is hard to see from these numbers were the big improvements are coming from, if they are going to make a difference to that state of affairs. robert,

thank you. the time is 1.17. our top story this lunchtime. millions of people in england will face tougher coronavirus restrictions from this weekend — with no households mixing indoors. and coming up — he'll never walk alone. the young liverpool fan who wrote tojurgen klopp about his worries, and got a winning reply. coming up on bbc news, officials from the efl will meet with clubs in all three divisions later to discuss financial support from the premier league. it's after all 20 clubs in the top flight voted to shelve project big picture. european union leaders are meeting in brussels to discuss the stalemate in negotiations with the uk, about a post—brexit trade and future partnership deal. it's the first time in months they've had in—depth discussions about the issue. 0ur europe correspondent nick beake is in brussels.

any prospect of any movement, do you think, nick? i think any prospect of any movement, do you think, nick? ithink the any prospect of any movement, do you think, nick? i think the chances of a major breakthrough in the next 48 hours are pretty low, that's largely because the british won't be in the room for this meeting. this is a summit of the leaders of the remaining 27 eu countries. interesting, borisjohnson has said today was to beat the deadline for getting an eu uk trade deal. clearly that hasn't happened and the latest from downing street is that boris johnson will be listening to what may or may not be agreed among the eu leaders and then will decide what steps to take for the uk, but certainly both sides are saying in public they want a trade deal but that they won't sign want at any costs. it can't be detrimental to their key principles. it was interesting, some of the eu leaders arriving here today, we've got a chance to have a quick chat with them, notably the irish leader, taoiseach martin told us that covid

and the resurgence of the virus was really going to focus minds and that no leader would want to inflict what he called the shock of no deal on people when they are struggling with this health emergency. he said he was confident that the talks would intensify in the coming days and weeks. we also spoke to the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, and he was confident that the man he described as his friend boris johnson wood, the divorce deal that was agreed last year, so in terms of a huge breakthrough i don't think that's in the offing but it's a crucial meeting of these leaders who haven't had a chance to discuss brexit for quite a few months now. nick beake, thank you, in brussels. with deadlines approaching, our reality check correspondent chris morris is here with a look at how the discussions have fared over the last few months. the post—brexit negotiations with the eu are finally closing in on decision time. so, how did we get to this point? let's go back nearly a year, to the election in december 2019, when, after months of parliamentary deadlock, borisjohnson won a huge

majority with the electoral slogan "get brexit done". little more than a month later, on january 31st this year, we were out — out of the eu and its political institutions, but straight into a transition period where all the rules and regulations stayed the same. talks on a future relationship with the eu began in march, covering trade, security, fishing, data, dispute resolution and more. but they soon became overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis, and progress was slow. the negotiations rumbled on through the spring and summer. and here'sjust one reminder of why they matter. in 2019, the uk exported £300 billion of goods and services to the eu — about 43% of all uk exports — and it imported £372 billion from the eu, about 51% of all imports. that share of overall uk trade taken up by the eu has fallen

over the last 20 years, but it's still by far the uk's largest, and of course closest, trading partner. by september, it was more than clear what the main sticking points were, preventing the emergence of even a basic trade deal — state aid or government subsidies for business, fisheries and governance, how to police any deal in the future. and then the stakes were raised. on september seventh, borisjohnson set a deadline of october 15th for reaching a deal orfocusing on no deal. on september eighth, the government published its internal market bill, which it admitted would break international law by overriding agreements about northern ireland in the brexit divorce deal. and on september 23rd, the government announced lorry drivers would need a permit to enter kent after the transition period ends, and warned of a worst—case scenario of queues of 7000 lorries waiting to cross the channel. and now we've reached october, with the time

for negotiations almost at an end. today's deadline, set by the prime minister, looks set to be extended — but not by very much. so, a deal can be done, but both sides are going to have to give ground. and don't forget, the economic part of brexit — leaving the eu's single market and customs union — takes place at the end of this year, deal or no deal. so, whatever happens in the next few weeks, big change is coming injust two and a half months' time. chris, thank you. scientists are learning more about the long—lasting effects of coronavirus. a new review suggests that some people are living with a "roller—coaster" of four different syndromes after getting the virus. the national institute for health research says thousands of people could be living with so—called long covid, and experts want more help for those affected. katharine da costa reports. jo house, a lecturer at bristol university, was never tested for coronavirus

and didn't need hospital treatment. but more than six months on she still can't work or lead a normal life. i have a lot of shortness of breath, i get really crushing fatigue, brain fog with difficulty concentrating and memory. i have difficulty swallowing, i get heart palpitations. i've got pain in all myjoints. researchers looked at the wide range of experiences people with ongoing symptoms have, whether they are recovering after a long stay in intensive care or had mild infections that were never officially diagnosed. the review found a wide range of symptoms affecting people's brain, gut, breathing, heart and even skin. as well as affecting different parts of the body, researchers found symptoms could come and go at different times and with different levels of intensity. and that crucially, long covid could be up to four different syndromes, including permanent organ damage, symptoms resulting from time spent in intensive care,

severe fatigue and continuing symptoms of covid—19. we want to start better data collection of people who are presenting with these symptoms which will actually help us understand the nature of the problem, but also give us an opportunity to research better and see if there really are these four differences, if people are at different risks for different syndromes and how we treat the different syndromes. lesley macniven still suffers from ongoing fatigue seven months after contracting the virus. she works for a long covid support group with more than 25,000 members and says it affects people's physical and mental health. if you can imagine how hard it would be living under restrictions, but if you are also doing that and every single day you felt tired, fatigued and restricted in what he could do, even within your own four walls because of lack of energy and lack of breath. it's thought tens of thousands of people could be living with ongoing conditions

caused by covid—19. the boss of nhs england has said £10 million will be spent on more long covid clinics across england. campaigners want to see them across the whole of the uk so that those with debilitating symptoms get the care and support they need. katherine da costa, bbc news. the pub chain marston's is planning to cut more than 2000 jobs. it says it's been hit by new coronavirus restrictions across the uk. let's speak to our business correspondent sima kotecha yet another sign of the impact on hospitality? absolutely. more job losses, i'm afraid. 2100 at marston's and all those workers had been on furlough, so the government was paying up to 80% of their wages. that scheme is coming to an end at

the end of this month and marston's have concluded they can't keep all those people on their books after that state support has been taken away. it says the harsher restrictions that have been put in place in cities like liverpool, along with the 10pm curfew, and a table service only policy in some pubs has really dented its profit margins, and i'm afraid moving forward it is inevitable that other companies will be doing the same sums as this is wound down, this furlough scheme, at the end of this month, and they will also be making the same conclusions, that they simply cannot afford to keep the same sized workforce. sima kotecha, thank you. scotland has the worst death rate from drug misuse in western europe. 1,200 people died in 2018, and it's believed that the figure for last year — will be even higher. but some addicts are being helped by a new prescription medication, which is being described as a game—changer. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports.

in some parts of glasgow it's not hard to find illegal drugs. everybody you pass, "do you want to buy heroin? "do you want this, do you want that?" it's rife. for more than 20 years, this was dougie's life. he lost friends, two uncles, a brother, to addiction. if i hadn't changed my ways, i would have died. and i don't think my mum would be able to survive losing another boy. but for the past nine months he's been taking a medication that blocks him craving heroin. it's life—changing. it's definitely worked. it managed to get me clean off methadone and clean off heroin. how has your week been? this is what he takes — one injection once a month of buvidal. it's the first new development in years in treating addiction to opiates. for our patients i think it's been a game changer. their lives have improved in many ways.

less drug use, better interaction with theirfamilies, with their children. it's not a case of they go on it and they're on there forever, which is sometimes an issue people throw at methadone, so we've managed to detox a number of patients from buvidal. but the challenge can be getting users to engage with services. the city wanted a facility where addicts could take drugs under supervision. the uk government, which controls drugs policy, said a safe consumption room would be illegal. what we carry is a range of clean injecting equipment... this former heroin user is taking matters into his own hands, operating a van where users can take their own drugs in a controlled environment. if we give them a safe place to consume drugs, we can not only keep them alive, but we can also offer so many other things in terms of things like buvidal, methadone, heroin—assisted treatment, which can actually improve the quality of people's lives beyond measure. buvidal is not suitable for everyone. experts are wary of words

like miracle drug. but it's already helping fix some lives, and they want to continue. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. the queen has carried out her first public engagement outside a royal residence in seven months. she wasjoined this morning by her grandson the duke of cambridge, at the defence science and technology laboratory at porton down near salisbury. let's speak to our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. tell us more, nick? welcome of this, as you say, the first formal engagement outside of a royal palace since early march and the queen, looking perfectly relaxed, as you would expect, with prince william, but no face masks, as you will notice, on the basis i suppose this was a visit to the government's normally very secret defence science and technology laboratory at porton down where they take things like all safety very seriously and anyone who met the queen or william had of course been tested and had tested

negative for coronavirus. social distancing, of course, no elbow bumps or anything like that, you can't really imagine it, can you? they met staff involved in anti—terrorist and explosive detection, scientists involved in the novichok incident in 2018 and scientists involved in the national response to covid—19, porton down closely involved. the queen said, now it's doubling itself again. she asked questions but the important thing is that she is out and about again for herfirst thing is that she is out and about again for her first formal outing outside the royal residence but with understandable caution. nick witchell, thank you. finally this lunchtime, an 11—year—old liverpool fan has had his anxiety about moving to secondary school eased — after receiving a letterfrom his hero. lewis wrote to the club's manager jurgen klopp in the hope of getting some advice about how to deal with nerves. the manager responded with a heartfelt note, admitting even he gets nervous. i like this bit.