Leicester put under local lockdown
Author: Rafi Benady | Tuesday 30th June 2020
A surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in Leicester has resulted in the city being put under a local lockdown. This means the easing up of restrictions in the rest of the country won’t apply.
The government will review in two weeks whether Leicester’s new guidelines can be lifted.
It’s the first city in the UK to be put under a local lockdown, following 944 new cases in the past two weeks.
According to Health Secretary Matt Hancock the city had "10% of all positive cases in the country over the past week".
Mr Hancock said all non-essential shops will close from Tuesday, which will be enforced by law.
Schools will close from Thursday and will remain so until after the summer holidays. However, they will remain open for those who need it, such as vulnerable children and children of critical workers. People should avoid all non-essential travel around and within the city. As well as the city centre, the measures also apply to some of the city’s suburbs such as Oadby, Birstall and Glenfield.
Leicestershire County Council has said it is working on a "postcode checker" for those who don’t know whether the measures apply to them.