The government has confirmed that the current coronavirus restrictions in Leicester are set to continue.
This means residents can not meet up with family or friends (apart from those in their support bubbles) in private homes or gardens.
This is despite the 7-day infection rate falling significantly in the city to 51.2 per 100,000 people (July 29 – August 4). When the original restrictions were imposed on Leicester, the infection rate was 135 per 100,000 people.
Some restrictions have been eased from Monday 3 August, with restaurants, cafes, bars and hairdressers allowed to reopen. However, leisure centres, gyms and pools are still not allowed to reopen.
The current restrictions in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire will also continue and have been extended to the city of Manchester and Preston.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock thanked those areas affected by restrictions, recognising their “patience and willingness to follow the rules”.
He said: “Yesterday I chaired a meeting of the Local Action Gold Committee, and unfortunately, the data does not yet show a decrease in the transmission of this terrible virus. It means we must keep the current restrictions in place.”
“We are constantly examining the data on the prevalence of the virus in these areas, and we will review the measures again next week.”
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