Amy Woodfield
BBC News

The home secretary said "it is right we have a local solution" when discussing the spike in coronavirus cases in Leicester on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

Priti Patel said she had spoken to Health Secretary Matt Hancock about a possible local lockdown, and "extra support" would be going into the area.

The PM says “local lockdowns and local whack-a-mole strategies” will be used to deal with coronavirus outbreaks.

Neil Heath
BBC News Online

Sir Peter Soulsby, Leicester's mayor, said he received an email from the government overnight about possible new restrictions due to a surge in coronavirus cases in the city.

He told the Today programme the city could "remain restricted for two weeks longer than the rest of the country" following the message.

However, he said the advice from the government was "very different from the dramatic 'lockdown in Leicester' that was being briefed over the weekend."

Sir Peter criticised the government report as "superficial".

He said it did not provide the information Leicester needs if it is to remain restricted for two weeks longer than the rest of the country.

Alex Smith
BBC News Online

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is "concerned about Leicester" following a surge in coronavirus cases.

On a visit to a construction site in west London today, the prime minister said: "We are concerned about Leicester, we are concerned about any local outbreak."

He said the local "whack-a-mole" strategy had worked in Weston-super-Mare and where there had been outbreaks around GP surgeries in London.

"That's the same approach that we will bring to bear in Leicester as well," he added.

Image source, Wiktor Szymanowicz/Getty Images

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Extending the lockdown in Leicester will "destabilise" retailers that were preparing to reopen, the Leicestershire Federation of Small Businesses has said.

Michael Weedon, from the federation, said retailers were feeling "relief, excitement and a bit of trepidation" about opening for the first time with new safety procedures in place.

Image source, Reuters

He said: "We're managing two crises here at once - one is a health crisis and one is an economic crisis.

"Retailers' income has completely disappeared. Although we've seen a bump in high street footfall, it's only at 50% of what it was this time last year.

"That's partly because towns are coming awake bit-by-bit. Normally you might have five reasons to go into the middle of Leicester, if some of those places - restaurants and barbers for example - are shut, you've got fewer reason and fewer people will go."

Neil Heath
BBC News Online

A restaurant owner in Leicester has said he "very nervous" at the possibility of not being able to reopen should coronavirus restrictions be extended.

Sohail Ali, co-owner of Chaiiwala cafes, said he has more than 100 staff working for him in the city and the spike in Covid-19 cases has made everyone fearful.

"I feel very nervous, unsure what is going to happen," he told BBC Radio Leicester.

"Everyone has got bills to pay, mouths to feed, so we need to make sure that we can get our businesses back open."

BBC Radio Leicester

A hair salon owner in Leicester says he is "devastated" at a potential lengthening of restrictions in the city.

Blake Edwards said for the last week he's been celebrating being able to return to work this weekend.

He said he wanted to "crack on".

"We were ready a long time ago and we just want to get on with it and get the economy back on the road," he said.

"We're so busy - to rearrange all those clients is going to be hell."

Rob Sissons
East Midlands Today Reporter

It's the government's strategy to lock down areas if the science suggested the virus is running away with its self and the cases are likely to escalate unless drastic action is taken.

"Lockdown" means different things to different people but it's also a sliding scale of options.

Image source, PA Media

I think more likely, at least in the short-term, there may be a public health campaign warning people to be extra vigilant in Leicester.

Or maybe, you could have a measure just closing takeaways, cafes, non-essential shops, before going back to those other stages from before.

The problem is, Leicester is such a diverse community and they haven't quite worked out who has been affected. Is there a pattern?

They're playing detective at the moment - people have been number-crunching over the weekend but this is taking days.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

The mayor of Leicester - Sir Peter Soulsby - said the government has recommended current coronavirus restrictions continue in the city for a further fortnight.

It follows a spike in people testing positive for Covid-19.

Image source, LCS/Zuber Omarji

In the last two weeks up to 23 June, there were 866 positive cases confirmed in the city - 29% of the 2,987 who have tested positive since the pandemic began.

Extending restrictions locally may mean pubs and restaurants will have to remain closed for longer.

A man is held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and drink driving in Stenson Fields.

The decision to reopen pubs and restaurants before indoor sports facilities is "backwards", says speed skater Elise Christie.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Police are asking for help to find two men shown fighting in a video recorded near to Chatsworth House.

The video, which was shared widely on social media last week, shows a large number of young people surrounding the fight.

Derbyshire police said they were called just after 16:30 on Wednesday to reports "a large group of youths were gathered by the River Derwent and a fight had broken out".

The men involved, or anyone that knows who they are, are being asked to contact the force.

Lewis Grabban scores twice as Championship promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest beat struggling Huddersfield Town.

BBC Weather

It will be a mostly dry and windy day with lengthy sunny spells and haze.

It will also be cooler than previous days and there is a chance of one or two showers, mainly in the afternoon.

Image source, Bev