Covid: Hospitals could be overwhelmed without new tiers, says Gove

Hospitals in England could become 'overwhelmed' with Covid cases if MPs do not back new restrictions, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has said. Many Tory MPs oppose the tougher tier system, which begins on 2 December. But writing in the Times, Mr Gove said MPs - who will vote on the measures next week - need to 'take responsibility for difficult decisions'. Labour is yet to decide whether it will support the new restrictions. It has warned, however, that areas in tier three will be stretched to 'breaking point' without further financial support from the Treasury. It comes as a further 479 deaths within 28 days of a positive test were reported in the UK, bringing the total to 58,030. There were also a further 15,871 positive cases registered in the past 24 hours.