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The country's second national lockdown will be lifted next week - with a stricter three-tier system of restrictions coming into force.
The Prime Minister announced non-essential shops and gyms will be able to reopen and outdoor sports will return from December 2 in the House of Commons today.
Boris Johnson unveiled his Covid Winter Plan, explaining how tougher three-tiered regional measures will be introduced.
It is expected more areas across the country will be placed in tiers two and three which will have tighter restrictions to protect any progress made over the last month.
Pubs and restaurants will be able to reopen in tiers one and two - but will be forced to remain as takeaway-only service in tier three.
The 10pm closing time curfew will be extended to 11pm - with last orders being taken at 10pm - to avoid rushes of crowds going home at the end of the night.
Non-essential shops, hairdressers, personal care services and gyms will be allowed to reopen in all tiers and outdoor sports can resume.
Collective worship and weddings will also be able to continue and will be subject to social distancing.
Spectators will be allowed to attend some sporting events across England.
There will also be a return of the "rule of six", which will mean people will no longer be restricted to meeting one person in an outdoor setting.
The Prime Minister said today that "we know in our hearts by next spring we will succeed" expressed hopes that the need for further lockdowns will be "redundant".
None have yet been approved, so though the outlook is hopeful with announcements of high effectiveness from Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, it is not clear when roll-out will begin.
It is still unclear in which tier Kent will placed in when restrictions are lifted on December 2. This is set to be announced on Thursday.
However, with the number of areas in Kent with high infection rates growing by the day and Kent's public health director warning not to expect the county to come out of the lockdown how we entered, it is looking increasingly likely that higher tier restrictions will be in place.
Kent's infection rate stood at 291.3 with cases rising by 38% to 4,607 in the week up to November 17. Medway's infection rate was 362.6 with 1,010 cases in the seven days up to November 17 - a 55.6% rise on the week prior.
