Stay at home with your household tonight to see New Year in safely, plead council and police in Milton Keynes

They are echoing the government's campaign to help reduce the spread of Covid and protect the public as 2021 dawns.

To do this, everyone should "act like they have the virus" and to stay at home tonight, says the government and NHS.

The public is being reminded in a massive advertising campaign of the rapidly rising rate of coronavirus infections, asymptomatic transmission, and pressures facing NHS hospitals

It reiterates that people should not meet up with friends or family indoors, unless they are in the same household or support bubble, and they should avoid large gatherings of any kind.

The adverts also remind the public how easily Covid-19 can be spread.

"One in three people who have the virus have no symptoms and as such the public should act like they have the virus to avoid spreading it without realising," it states.

"The new strain of the virus spreads even faster than before and NERVTAG’s early analysis suggested it could increase R by 0.4 or greater," it added.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: "With our NHS under pressure we must all take personal responsibility this New Year’s Eve and stay at home. I know how much we have all sacrificed this year and we cannot let up. Over 600,000 people have now been vaccinated and we are close to beating this virus.

"Now more than ever, we need to pull together to save lives and protect our NHS. If we continue to do our bit by staying at home, we can get through this together.

"NHS Test and Trace is reaching 97.5% of contacts within 24 hours, and more than 3.9 million people have been reached... The government is calling on people to do their bit and further prevent the spread of Covid-19."