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While the rest of England will be easing many more lockdown measures from July 4, Leicester and surrounding areas have had lockdowns reinstated. People in Leicester have been told to stay at home, and non-essential shops which opened on June 15 have been asked to close once again. Businesses in the hospitality sector will not be reopening in Leicester this weekend, and schools will close from Thursday except for children who are vulnerable or whose parents are key workers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thanked the people of Leicester for their “forbearance” during the new local lockdown.

Mr Johnson said: “It may seem a bit premature to make a speech now about Britain after Covid when that deceptively nasty disease is still rampant in other countries and when global case numbers are growing fast.

“And when many in this country are nervous, rightly, about more outbreaks – whether national or local – like the flareup in Leicester where, as I promised, we are putting on the brakes, and I thank the people of Leicester for their forbearance.”

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Government had no choice but to impose a city-wide lockdown on Leicester as coronavirus cases continued to increase in the area.

He said on Tuesday: “It was clear that we needed to take this further action.

“I understand that people in Leicester have difficulties – especially when the rest of the country is having lockdown measures lifted – that they are going to be asked to stay at home for that much longer.

“But it is profoundly in the interests of people in Leicester and across the country that we get this virus under control.”

Is your area back under lockdown?

Leicestershire County Council has now released a map of the boundaries for the new local lockdown.

You can also check if your home falls into the lockdown boundary with the council’s Lockdown Postcode Checker, which can be found on this web page HERE. 

The areas of Leicestershire included in the localised lockdown are:

In Blaby District:

• Braunstone Town (including Fosse Park)
• Glenfield
• Glen Parva
• Leicester Forest East (East of the M1)
• Thorpe Astley

In Charnwood:

• Birstall
• Thurmaston

Oadby and Wigston – All areas

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Will more places be put under lockdown?

According to medical and scientific experts, local lockdowns like the one now in place in Leicester will likely become more common over the coming weeks and months.

Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, who also used to advise the Government, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme more local lockdowns are “inevitable”.

He said: “It’s inevitable we will (have further local outbreaks), we are relaxing lockdown rules and that means that contacts in the population are going up and that’s a very variable process.”

Asked about potential lockdowns in places such as Bradford and Doncaster, Professor Ferguson said: “Those are areas, where not as high as Leicester, but they have some of the highest numbers of cases per 100,000 of the population, which is the relevant measure, so they’re clearly of concern.”

Professor Peter Horby, an Oxford professor who also chairs the new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group (Nervtag), was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the public should prepare for more local outbreaks.

He replied: “Unfortunately I think we should. We’ve seen the epidemic is focal, which is often the case, it’s not the same in all places.

“And we saw that London, unfortunately, led the way in the UK and now Leicester is, unfortunately, leading the way and we can expect more of that, so I think there will have to be local responses to local outbreaks.”

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