Only three locations will received tier one treatment having recorded zero cased in the past week; the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Whilst the tiers were unveiled at 11.30 this morning a rush for details saw the government website repeatedly crash.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons: "Hope is on the horizon but we still have further to go. So we must all dig deep."
"We should see these restrictions not as a boundary to push but as a limit on what the public health advice says we can safely do in any area," he added.
Around 21 local authority areas will be in the highest level - tier three - including Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Tees Valley Combined Authority and North East Combined Authority.
Lancashire, Leicester, Lincolnshire, Slough, Bristol, Kent and Medway will also be in tier three.
Differences between the new tiers include restrictions on where households can meet up:
- tier one: the rule of six applies everywhere, indoors and out
- tier two: the rule of six applies outdoors but there is no household mixing anywhere indoors
- tier three: can only meet other households in outdoor public spaces like parks, where the rule of six applies
Gyms and close-contact beauty services like hairdressers will be able to open in all tiers. Guidance said people in all tiers who can work from home should continue to do so.
The system will be regularly reviewed and an area's tier level may change before Christmas - the first review is scheduled for 16 December.
