Amy Woodfield
BBC News

The Labour MP for Leicester East has said she "rejects" anyone looking to blame Leicester residents for a spike in coronavirus cases.

Claudia Webbe, who has welcomed the extension of lockdown measures, said the government had failed to adequately protect communities.

She said: “Leicester East is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse places in the UK, and has high levels of both child poverty and in-work poverty.

"The virus itself may not discriminate, but our economic and social system certainly does.

“I will keep working tirelessly to lobby the government, public health officials and local stakeholders to ensure that Leicester receives the best possible protection from this virus.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said "10% of all positive cases in the country over the past week" were in Leicester and the rate of infection is "three times that of the next city".

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

Leicester's police commissioner has backed the local lockdown but criticised the government's handling of the crisis, saying it has offered "minimal guidance".

Lord Willy Bach,the Labour elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland said the local authorities needed clarity from the start and that he was "astonished" information was being drip-fed throughout the day.

"It's clear that this new lockdown is justified. Public health comes first, and I urge everyone to follow the guidelines to protect each other and save lives," he said in a statement.

Image source, Leicestershire Police

"As the first localised lockdown, we are the pathfinders. Amazingly we were not even provided with a map of the area until well after the announcement.

"That has now been issued, but, unfortunately, we received minimal guidance regarding practical implementation at the time the measures were imposed."

"We wait to see what, if any, legislation will accompany support measures."

Lord Bach said Leicestershire Police will continue to "engage, explain, encourage, enforce" but without additional legislation, enforcement powers are limited.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A woman who was due to go on holiday to Cornwall says she "felt like a Leicester leper" when the campsite posted on its Facebook page that no-one from the city was allowed to visit.

Tracy Jebbett, from West Knighton, said they had visited Pentewan Sands holiday park near St Austell every year and booked next week's trip last year.

They had been happy to see the campsite was reopening on Saturday, until last night's local lockdown was announced.

Image source, Tracy Jebbett

"I understand it's for the safety of the people camping there and the staff but we have adhered to the lockdown guidelines 110% and feel we are being penalised," the 50-year-old said.

"We are regulars there and had been looking forward to it, but I felt like a bit of a Leicester leper when I saw the post."

The family had been due to travel on 11 July and are unsure now when they will be able to re-book.

A spokeswoman for the park said "in an ideal world, all affected guests would have been emailed personally" however as there was not yet a postcode checker it could not pinpoint which guests it would include.

She added: "In posting our decision to our website and social channels, we were able to reassure all guests, and staff, that we were taking the news and their safety seriously."

The park said anyone impacted by the changes would be able to transfer the holiday or request a refund.

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

Poonam Sharma thinks the tighter restrictions in Leicester are "still not being taken seriously".

The 34-year-old who lives in the city centre said it was "disappointing" to see the area still bustling.

"The streets of Leicester are as busy as ever today," she said. "People milling about, and although the non-essential shops have closed, the city is still busy."

Image source, Poonam Sharma

She questioned how people in Leicester would be stopped from going to neighbouring areas or cities.

She said: "I'm not convinced this two-week local lockdown will change anything in the city unless the people of Leicester - or the minority that are not adhering to government guidelines - are enforced to do so."

PA Media

Downing Street has said Health Secretary Matt Hancock must sign regulations under existing legislation in order to enforce stricter lockdown measures in Leicester.

The prime minister's official spokesman said the health secretary has the power to reimpose restrictions under the Public Health Act 1984.

"In practical terms the regulations will allow Leicester to be exempted from the national changes which come into force on 4 July and also the regulations will be used to reimpose the closure of non-essential retail as per the national measure that was in place before June 15," the spokesman added.

Image source, PA Wire

Alex Smith
BBC News Online

Downing Street has said there are no plans for Health Secretary Matt Hancock to hold a press conference on the Leicester lockdown following an earlier demand from Labour.

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South and shadow health secretary, had called for the press conference, saying more detail on the localised lockdown was needed for residents and businesses.

But the prime minister's official spokesman said: "No current plans for that."

The spokesman added Mr Hancock went to the Commons after the decision had been made and took questions then and during a media round, as had the prime minister at his speech earlier today in the West Midlands.

"So I do think both nationally and locally steps have been taken to ensure that people have all the information they need," the spokesman said.

Image source, PA Media

PA Media

Employers forced to shut their doors again in Leicester under the local lockdown will be able to re-furlough their staff if they have used the scheme before, Downing Street has said.

The scheme to prevent job losses could still be utilised by firms in the city and elsewhere that are affected by the return of strict measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, the prime minister's official spokesman said.

Image source, PA Media

The spokesman added: "If employers have used the furlough scheme at any point between March 1 and June 30, which of course many will have, they can re-furlough those employees from July 1.

"If someone worked in non-essential retail and they have been able to go back to work and that non-essential retail now has to close again, they will still be eligible to benefit from the furlough scheme.

"It applies nationwide but obviously it's a particular circumstance to Leicester and those surrounding conurbations at the moment."

Image source, PA Media

Amy Orton
Local Democracy Reporter

Health bosses say that hospital admissions remain stable despite Leicester’s coronavirus spike.

A joint statement on behalf of the area's clinical commissioning groups, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust said: "Services are not under significant pressure at the moment but we are well prepared for any increases in people needing hospital treatment or monitoring in the community.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Leicester accounted for 10% of all positive cases in the country in the past week and that admissions to hospital are between six and 10 per day.

But local data suggests that coronavirus patient numbers are in line with the rest of the country.

Since the start of the pandemic, 398 patients being cared for at Leicester's hospitals – Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital – have died after testing positive for Covid-19.

They have been aged between their 20s and 90s.

Some 21 patients have died at community hospitals, managed by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

The owner of two hair salons in Leicestershire said under the new restrictions, one must remain closed but the other can open.

Indy Burmi, owner of Indy's hairdressing, has a salon outside the lockdown zone in Quorn, near Loughborough, which is set to open on Saturday and another in Leicester, which now has to remain shut for at least two more weeks.

He called the new restrictions "a shame" but said he understood why they were put in place.

Mr Burmi said: "I know my Leicester salon will be really affected.

"The grant we had from the council [at the start of lockdown], which was a great help, has totally vanished on bills without paying rent."

He said it's also a concern the business could lose customers from the Leicester salon who may decide to find a hairdresser outside the lockdown zone.

Mr Burmi said: "The only positive thing is because I have two salons, I can concentrate on getting Quorn up and running for two weeks, then throw myself into Leicester."

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Tighter lockdown measures have been welcomed by Fati Fzakaria-Cisse.

"I'm very, very scared of it, it's just come out of nowhere," she said.

"I've seen that black people are at most risk, and I've had a heart operation, so for me a lockdown is good."

The 57-year-old care worker, from Saffron Lane, said she was "nervous" to come into the city centre but needed to visit the bank and get her phone fixed - something she had been unable to do earlier.

"We've been on lockdown for three months, an extra two weeks doesn't matter," she added.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Leicester's seven-day infection rate was 135 cases per 100,000 people - three times that of the next highest city.

Bradford, Barnsley and Rochdale have all seen 45 or more cases per 100,000 people in the last week, according to data released by Public Health England.

People in Leicester city centre react to the UK's first local lockdown which was imposed on Monday.

Sir Peter Soulsby hopes the new measures will help authorities "get on top" of the local outbreak.

BBC Radio Leicester

A man who runs a fruit and vegetable stall in Oadby - one of a handful of Leicestershire towns included as part of new local lockdown measures - believes the tighter regulations will not work.

As a food retailer, Scott Frake said he is able to continue trading, but is doubtful people will adhere to government guidance.

He said: "I just think people have been locked down for that long now they're just going to carry on. Everybody is fed up with it.

"I don't think it's the right thing to do but especially the older generation, we've heard them this morning, 'I'm not staying in, I'm coming out, I've had enough, it's driving me crazy'.

"How can you tell the older generation what to do? You can't."

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thanked the people of Leicester for their "forbearance" following the city's lockdown extension.

The stricter measures mean non-essential shops have closed, most schools will shut later this week and pubs and restaurants within the city won't be reopening on Saturday.

"Obviously we will be in constant communication with the authorities in Leicester and monitoring it nationally," the prime minister said.

Image source, PA Media

He said he hopes, in time, the restrictions can be lifted, adding: "We will be ensuring as and when the data changes and the situation improves, we will take steps to ease the measures that we have had to enforce."

Samantha Noble
BBC News Online

The manager of a pub in Leicester has said new lockdown restrictions are "a bit of a kick in the teeth".

Sarah Gillett, from the Market Tavern, said: "It is a bit stricter than we thought, with non-essential shops having to close again."

She added they are concerned it will be a phased reopening and possibly much more than two weeks until pubs, restaurants and hair salons can open.

"It is terrible," Miss Gillett said. "There are a lot of businesses which can't come out the other side."

She said staff at the pub will have to stay on furlough.

"It is not good but the owner thinks we will get through it. It's a struggle," she said.

"The big plus was we did not put in a beer order [of £6,000 to £8,000 worth of stock], that would have been done today."

Miss Gillett, who lives in Aylestone, added she was also "angered" by the situation.

She said: "I know people who have older family members who have been shielding and people who have followed the guidelines, and it is down to a few that have not.

"If everybody just listened - all the information has been there and people just think they are above it."

Neil Heath
BBC News Online

Leicestershire Police has urged people to adhere to government guidelines following the announcement that Leicester has to extend its lockdown.

The force said it will "engage, explain, encourage and enforce" the guidance "where necessary".

Image source, EPA

Meanwhile, Dave Stokes, chairman of the Leicestershire Police Federation, has appealed for "clarity" from the government on what the public can and cannot do.

He said: "As we have seen over recent weeks and months, if the guidance and messaging from government is confusing for the public, then it will be almost impossible for our colleagues to police.

"We have seen examples from across the country that 'common sense' is impossible to police."

Image source, Reuters

The force encouraged people to maintain two metres social distancing, wash their hands regularly and get tested if they have coronavirus symptoms.

Confusion and delay causes anxiety amongst business owners in the city.

David Pittam
BBC News Online

Like many teenagers Achayla Carr-Brown, of Saffron Lane, was looking forward to going out in Leicester this coming weekend but her plans have had to change following the new lockdown restrictions.

"I was shocked, flabbergasted. Out of all the cities, why here?" asked the 19-year-old.

"I was so excited to go shopping and sit down for food, go out for a drink, but I can't. It's upsetting.

"But in a sense it is better to be safe than sorry, prevention is better than the cure and when I saw the numbers,I thought 'this is serious'. "

Image source, bbc

Meanwhile, Sophie Gill, 22, said she had been keeping safe anyway, so was not too impacted by the new measures, but as a student nurse she had been frustrated that some people in Leicester weren't following the rules.

She said: "I didn't see any change in behavior after they announced there had been a spike.

"People did not take it seriously, they got so close in shops. People might not get ill themselves but they can pass it on to people they don't know."

Neil Heath
BBC News Online

Nottinghamshire Police could potentially issue fines if they believe people from Leicester have travelled to Nottingham for a "night out".

A surge in coronavirus cases in Leicester has meant schools and non-essential shops must close again.

Pubs, restaurants and hairdressers have also been told they cannot open this weekend unlike the rest of England.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottinghamshire Police's chief constable Craig Guildford told the Nottingham Post , externalthat he believes people will remain responsible, but £100 fines could be issued as a last resort.

The force will be working with British Transport Police to ensure people are not leaving on trains from Leicester to shop or use Nottingham's pubs.