Why is Leicester in local lockdown?
AFTER a local spike in coronavirus cases, Leicester will be forced to remain in lockdown for two more weeks.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the east Midlands city would be the only place in England not allowed to ease restrictions followed by the rest of the country on July 4.
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How many coronavirus cases have there been in Leicester?
On June 30 Leicester was put into the UK's first local lockdown after a worrying spike saw Public Health England identify 2,987 cases — with 866 in just two weeks.
The shocking numbers mean that Leicester accounts for 10 per cent of all coronavirus cases in the UK.
Figures for coronavirus on June 16 had shown about 25 per cent of the city's 2,494 cases were reported in the previous two weeks.
The town's Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby told on June 29 that he had received an email at 1am with recommendations that the city should stay “under current lockdown restrictions” for a further two weeks.
He said: "If Leicester is to be treated differently in terms of a lockdown we also need to be treated differently in terms of support for businesses."
He added that the city, like the rest of England, had suffered economically during lockdown but said: "If we're going to stay in that lockdown longer, we need that extra help to make sure that Leicester comes out of the end of it even stronger."
It means pubs, restaurants and hairdressers in Leicester will have to remain closed for two more weeks.
Mr Hancock said he "cannot recommend that the easing of national lockdown" set to take place on July 4 can happen in Leicester.
He said non-essential retail will have to close from Wednesday, July 1, and schools will also need to close from Thursday, July 2 - only staying open for vulnerable kids and those of key workers.
There must also only be essential travel from and to Leicester.
The Health Secretary said the measures will be reviewed in two weeks time.
Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe had called for lockdown due to a "perfect storm" of poverty, positive tests and a higher ethnic diversity in the city.
But she admitted that the lockdown was "quite worrying" for the city.
She told Sky News: "There is nothing more important than life itself and we have to protect life.
"But I would want to hear more from the Secretary of State for Health in terms of that we also seek to protect livelihoods as well.
"There are clearly so many communities and businesses that have already fallen through the government's safety net of support."
What did Priti Patel say about a local lockdown?
Priti Patel confirmed during an interview on BBC's Andrew Marr Show that speculation that the government was considering placing Leicester in lockdown was "correct".
Ms Patel said she had spoken to the Health Secretary about a local lockdown, and said "extra support" would be going into the area.
She said: "With local flare-ups, it is right we have a local solution."
Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth, MP for Leicester South, said more testing is needed urgently in order to "understand the scale of" a spike in cases in Leicester.
Why has there been a spike in the city?
Several schools have been affected, as well as supermarket staff falling ill and food manufacturers confirming cases.
It is understood that the outbreak originated in food processing sites as the city features a high number of garment and sewing factories.
Both the Samworth Brothers sandwich firm and Ethically Sourced Products clothes factory have been named as sites of minor outbreaks.
It is feared the spread was driven by people going to packed workplaces and then bringing the infection home to their families.
North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen also said that a high proportion of young people in the city meant that many did not follow the lockdown guidelines.
Mr Bridgen said: "What we have seen in Leicester is a perfect storm really, you have got a city which has generally got younger people living in it. We know younger people have been less likely to comply with lockdown rules.
"We have got the biggest ethnic minority population of any city, so you have multi-generational households where the young people have probably been out socialising in breach of the lockdown."
He added: "On top of that there is quite a substantial food processing industry.
"And on top of that you have got a very large garment industry which should have locked down which my sources are telling me have worked for internet retailers who have been very busy during the lockdown and they have carried on working as well."
Dr Fu-Meng Khaw, regional director for Public Health England, said: “When it comes to the general trend of the number of cases in Leicester, we started noticing a peak on June 1, and then it appeared to peak again on June 12.
He added that “very few under 18s” are testing positive and that the cases are mainly being detected in working-age people between the ages of 18 and 65.
How will the local lockdown be enforced?
Matt Hancock said that "in some cases" the coronavirus lockdown will be enforced by police.
Legal changes will be brought in to ensure non-essential retailers are no longer open to the public.
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Restaurants, cafes, pubs and hairdressers will remain shut and people will be advised against all non-essential travel.
Asked how people would be stopped from travelling outside of the city. Hancock said: “We're recommending against all but essential travel both to and from and within Leicester, and as we saw during the peak, the vast majority of people will abide by these rules.
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“Of course we will take further action including putting in place laws if that is necessary, but I very much hope it won’t be.”