Rutland remains in the mid-range Tier 2 Coronavirus restrictions.

Nearby Greater Lincolnshire will also remain under the tier 3 toughest coronavirus restrictions in the latest announcement by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Neighbours in Leicestershire, Leicester and Nottinghamshire, including Melton, will remain in tier 3, while Peterborough in Cambridgeshire was also moved up to the highest tier.

This comes as local MPs including Rutland and Melton MP Alicia Kearns, Grantham and Stamford's Gareth Davies and Sir John Hayes from the Deepings said they has received assurances from Mr Hancock that the Tier status of areas would be treated on a more localised basis.

This had led to hopes that Melton and South Kesteven might have been placed in Tier 2.

Speaking to the House of Commons on Thursday Mr Hancock said across the world cases were rising. On Wednesday 25,161 cases were reported. And there are 18,038 people in hospital with coronavirus in the UK.

The vast majority of England areas saw no changes to the tier system.

He expanded tier 3 across "a much wider area of the east and southeast of England" including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Peterborough and the whole of Hertfordshire.

Only Bristol, North Somerset and Herefordshire went down a tier.

He said: "We must keep suppressing this virus and this isn't just a matter of a government of this house, it's a matter for every single person.

"These are always the most difficult months for people's health and for the NHS, and especially with the vaccine already here we must be cautious as we accelerate the vaccine deployment as per the winter plan.

"We've come so far. We mustn't blow it now."

The country's tiers will be reviewed again on December 31.

The decision comes ahead of a Christmas relaxation which will allow up to three households to mix for a maximum of five days from December 23 to 27.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to reverse the decision, however, told the nation that it was their personal responsibility to ensure they had a safe Christmas.

"While it would not be right to criminalise people who have made plans and simply want to spend time with their loved ones, we're asking you to think hard, and in detail about the days ahead, and whether you can do more to protect yourself and others," he said.

"We're keeping the laws the same, but we all want to send the same message, a smaller Christmas is going to be a safer Christmas, and a shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas."

More than 34 million people — or 61% of England's population — had previously been living under tier three rules, the highest level of restrictions, including large parts of the Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and the North West.

On Wednesday, they were joined by London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire following a spike in infection rates.

Some areas in the north of England, including Greater Manchester and Teeside were hoping to be downgraded to tier two, however this did not happen.

Health bosses also confirmed Wednesday that some of the worst tier 2 areas could also be eligible for community testing in a bid to prevent them from moving to tier 3 in future.