Southport, Sefton and the entire Liverpool City Region will move into tier 3 coronavirus restrictions, while Lancashire will move into tier 4.
The measures will come into effect at 1 minute past midnight on the morning of New Year’s Eve.
Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock confirmed the changes in the House of Commons this afternoon.
Southport has been under tier 2 restrictions since 2nd December.
The rate of new cases in the Liverpool City Region has essentially doubled in recent weeks, but Southport escaped harsher tier 4 measures.
It can not be distinguished how much of that rise is down to mass testing as opposed to the newly discovered coronavirus varient, or the behaviour of local residents.
An announcement on the reopening of schools will be made later today.
READ MORE: Click here to see our full guide on what Tier 3 Coronavirus restrictions mean for Southport
However experts are hopeful that the newly approved Oxford vaccine could bring about a quicker end to restrictions.
The Government has ordered 100m doses of the new drug, enough to vaccinate 50m residents, who will require two doses each.