Furious Leicester Residents Blamed An Explosion In coronavirus Cases On idiots Flouting Social Distancing Rules Today - As Ministers Warned People Face Arrest If They Break A New Lockdown Being Imposed On The City
Furious Leicester residents blamed an explosion in coronavirus cases on 'idiots' flouting social distancing rules today - as ministers warned people face arrest if they break a new lockdown being imposed on the city.
In a taste of what communities across the country will face if there are flare-ups, Matt Hancock has declared that all non-essential shops in the area must shut, just two weeks after they were allowed to reopen.
Schools will also be closed from Thursday amid fears the surge in cases is being driven by transmission among children - with the loosening planning for the rest of England on July 4 now off the agenda in Leicester until at least July 18.
The streets of the city centre were deserted this morning, as Mr Hancock confirmed that police will be enforcing the curbs, vowing to push through laws to bolster their powers.
But he hinted that there will be no extra compensation for businesses, and faced a backlash after admitting there will be no ban on cars or trains into the city.
The boundaries of the restrictions were only revealed this morning, adding to the sense of chaos.
There is also anger that action was not taken sooner, with complaints that ministers kept local authorities in the dark for more than a week after identifying a worrying spike in cases.
In a round of interviews intended to reassure an anxious public this morning, Mr Hancock said the government was mobilising its strategy for crushing localised outbreaks - dubbed 'whack a mole' by Boris Johnson.
'It's so important that we get a grip on this spike that has happened in Leicester.
We will be closing the shops by law and will be changing the law in the next day or two to do that,' he told BBC Breakfast.
He warned people not to travel 'in, out or within Leicester' unless it is essential, but added: http://travelzee.mystrikingly.com/blog/top-10-biggest-cricket-stadium-in-the-world 'We are not putting that into law at this stage - we will keep that under review and make changed if we need to'.
However, experts branded the outbreak in Leicester 'a reflection of premature lifting of lockdown measures', and predicted other cities would need the same treatment.
And health committee chair Jeremy Hunt described the action as a 'necessary puncturing of the elation' that had been building in England as the lockdown loosens.
The measures for Leicester first announced by Mr Hancock in a dramatic statement to the Commons last night include:
All non-essential shops will close from today, with law to be rushed through to underpin the new restrictions, after 800-plus cases were recorded in Leicester since mid-June and the area accounted for around 10 per cent of all positive tests in the UK over the past week;Schools will close from Thursday and will not reopen until next term, amid fears an unusually high incidence in children is driving the spread.
They will stay open for vulnerable children and offspring of key workers;People are advised to avoid all but essential travel to, from, and within Leicester and should "stay at home as much as you can", but there is no formal travel ban at this stage;Easing of lockdown in England on Saturday will not apply in Leicester, meaning pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas will stay shut;Shielding measures will not be loosened in the city on 6 July, unlike the rest of England where the most clinically-vulnerable will be able to spend more time outside. The streets of Leicester were almost empty this morning as residents responded to the warnings about a coronavirus surge
The market remained boarded up in Leicester today, with lockdown set to be tightened up again to combat the spread
Gallowtree Gate in Leicester today as locals brace themselves for the new lockdown after a coronavirus surge
A resident walks along a street in the North Evington area of Leicester today amid the renewed lockdown measures
Military personnel set up a mobile coronavirus testing site Victoria Park, Leicester this morning
Leicestershire County Council issued this map today showing the area that will be subject to strict lockdown measures
Matt Hancock (pictured on a round of interviews today) defended his response to the outbreak after Leicester was forced back into strict coronavirus lockdown after 10 per cent of the UK's new Covid-19 cases were recorded there
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Mr Hancock revealed that testing over the past ten days had revealed an 'unusually high incidence in children in Leicester'- who are unlikely to be ill themselves but could pass it to adults.
He said: 'There are under 18s that have tested positive and therefore because children can transmit the disease we think the safest thing to do is to close the schools', adding that they delayed this until Thursday to allow parents to organise childcare'.
Language barriers, high levels of diabetes and poverty among Leicester's BAME residents have also been blamed for the Covid-19 surge in the East Midlands city.
Mr Hancock admitted they were looking at areas with similar demographics in the north-west and Yorkshire but said: 'Leicester is very significantly worse than other cities'.
Residents have been advised to stay at home and warned against all but essential travel following a spike of 800-plus Covid-19 cases in Leicester since mid-June.
The area accounted for around 10 per cent of all positive cases in the UK over the past week.
Mr Hancock said 'in some cases' the lockdown would be enforced by the police, while legal changes would be made so non-essential retail is no longer open.
'We will be bringing forward a legal change very shortly, in the next couple of days, because some of the measures that we've unfortunately had to take in Leicester will require legal underpinning,' he said.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-bfbcce90-baaa-11ea-9667-d5b0ca20af95" website locals blame lockdown on those who ignored social distancing
