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How newspaper front pages reacted to England's incoming three-tier coronavirus lockdown

The front pages of Monday’s newspapers all focus on England’s incoming three-tier coronavirus lockdown system.

Boris Johnson is set to announce the new measures on Monday in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The prime minister will make a speech about the changes to the House of Commons before addressing the nation this evening.

Under the new plans, areas of England are expected to be categorised as medium, high or very high risk, which will inform the level of intervention required.

The new COVID-19 restrictions are expected to hit areas of the North of England, where infection rates are high, particularly hard.

Metro reports on the restrictions with the headline “Locktober” and says: “Here we go again”.

The Daily Telegraph says the prime minister “calls last orders for the North”, and adds that the new restrictions will have a “sunset” clause that means they will be reviewed every month.

The newspaper asks if Johnson has a “Plan B” if the new tiered lockdown fails to work.

The Daily Mail says MPs and mayors in the North of England are worried the new system will “shatter” the economy. It is sceptical about the impact of lockdowns and asks: “What will actually change?”

The Times says the second wave of COVID-19 has caused divisions between Johnson and his backbenchers, as well as between Westminster and local government and the North and the South of England.

The Daily Express also picks up this theme, saying the nation is "increasingly scarred by divisions between regions and classes”.

The Financial Times says the biggest change since the first lockdown in spring is an erosion of trust “between national and local administrations, and between government and the people".

Coronavirus: what happened today
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