The planned easing of lockdown restrictions has been postponed for at least a fortnight- with face masks to become mandatory by law in all public indoor settings on August 8.
It comes after new rules announced overnight saw separate households banned from meeting indoors from today, in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News the new restrictions were "absolutely necessary", adding: "When you face a pandemic like this, it is important to move quickly if that's what needed."
It followed the UK recording its highest daily total of COVID-19 cases for more than a month.