London will be kept under the strictest level of coronavirus restrictions for another fortnight, health secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed, as rapidly increasing case numbers saw three-quarters of England’s population placed under Tier 4.

The capital has been in Tier 4 since mid-December as infection spread across the city, following the discovery of a new variant of coronavirus that is 50% more transmissible. London reported 14,875 new positive cases of Covid-19 on 29 December, while the number of patients in hospitals was 4,957.