In a televised address, prime minister Boris Johnson told people to stay at home in much the same way the national was told to last March.
The new measures will be approved by ministers on Wednesday (6 January) when parliament is recalled, with Johnson urging people to comply with immediate effect.
It is the third time England has been placed in a state of national lockdown, with a new, more infectious variant of coronavirus sweeping across the UK.
The government on Monday evening updated the list of restrictions by which citizens must now abide, which cover everything from work, schooling, meeting up with friends and family – and travel.
