Leicester lockdown to be relaxed next week as infections fall
The local lockdown in Leicester will be partially lifted next Friday as its coronavirus infection rate drops.
Speaking in the House of Commons today, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the city’s rate still remains ‘well above the national average and the average for surrounding areas’.
But after making good progress over the past few weeks, he said: ‘We’re now in a position to relax some but not all of the restrictions that were in place.
From July 24, we’ll be removing the restrictions on schools and early years childcare and taking a more targeted approach to the restrictions on non essential retail replaced with a local power to close.
‘Restrictions like those for travel and only having social gatherings of up to six people, for example, will remain in force. And measures introduced on July 4 like reopening the hospitality sector will also not yet apply.’
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Hancock added: ‘The latest data shows that the seven-day infection rate in Leicester is now 119 cases per 100,000 people and the percentage of people testing positive is now at 4.8%. These are positive indicators, especially in light of the huge increase in testing.’
The Health Secretary compared the figures to when the lockdown was imposed and the seven-day infection rate was 135 and 10% of tests were positive.
‘I committed to reviewing the measures in Leicester every two weeks. This morning I chaired a gold meeting of the local action committee to discuss the latest situation and this afternoon I held a further meeting with local leaders, Public Health England, the JBC, the local resilience forum and my clinical advisers.’
The Health Secretary paid tribute to the people of Leicester and Leicestershire for their ‘perseverance and hard work’ in following the restrictions as rules were relaxed across the rest of England.
He told the Commons: ‘Some say that the local lockdown is unnecessary. I wish this were true, but sadly it remains vital for the health of everyone in Leicester and the rest of the country that these restrictions stay in place.
‘We will review them again in a fortnight. I hope that this careful easing of restrictions will provide some comfort to people in Leicester and Leicestershire.
‘And I’d say this directly to people of Leicester and of Leicestershire: I pay tribute to you all. Your perseverance and your hard work has brought real and tangible results and you’ve shown respect for one another.’
When asked by an MP about testing, Hancock said officials had identified some test swabs ‘that are not up to the usual high standard that we expect’.
He added: ‘We’ll be carrying out further testing of this batch. As a precautionary measure, and while we investigate further, we’re requesting the use of these Randox swab test kits are paused in all settings until further notice.
‘This problem was brought to my attention yesterday afternoon, we contacted settings using these swabs last night and published the pause notice immediately.
‘Clinical advice is that there’s no evidence of any harm, the test results are not affected, there is no evidence of any issues with our other test swabs and there is no impact on access to testing.’
Shadow Health Secretary and MP for Leicester South Jonathan Ashworth told the Commons: ‘If we still have to make further personal sacrifice to keep people safe and hunt this virus down with the lockdown, then so be it.
‘But there’s no question there will be a degree of dismay across the city in response to the Secretary of State’s remarks.’
He said many businesses will be eager to know whether they will be entitled to any additional support if they still can’t open.
The Labour MP also called on Hancock to ensure people in the city who have booked foreign holidays during ‘Leicester fortnight’ are reimbursed now they are unable to leave.
Hancock responded: ‘Of course I would urge holiday companies that people in Leicester have booked with to reimburse people in Leicester who might have booked a holiday at this point.
‘I think we across the whole House would strongly support action to ensure that illegal, insecure work is stamped out. The Home Secretary is taking action where that is appropriate, but of course, the public health response is vital.’
Some areas of Leicestershire which were in the lockdown zone but outside the city boundary have been released from restrictions as residents complained the rate of infections in their neighbourhoods didn’t justify it.
But the Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby shook his head during Hancock’s speech and accused the Government of playing ‘silly political games’ by freeing only some areas.
Earlier he had urged the Government to lift the local lockdown in 90% of the city. He claimed data provided to local officials showed that only 10% of Leicester had higher transmission rates.
In an interview with BBC Radio Leicester, Sir Peter claimed the Government had got local people into a ‘messy situation’ by its handling of the restrictions.
On the geographical nature of Leicester’s lockdown, Hancock said: ‘I gave the mayor of Leicester the opportunity to put forward any changes he might have wanted within the city boundary but he declined to do so.’
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