Some lockdown restrictions in Leicester are lifted, with pubs and restaurants in the city are set to reopen from Monday.
The announcement follows a statement by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, that lockdown restrictions had been tightened in some parts of northern England.
The health secretary said those restrictions on household visits would also apply in Leicester.
Meanwhile, Oadby and Wigston, towns in Leicester have been moving completely out of local lockdown. However, people living in the city have been told to observe strict measures from June 29 after a recent surge in new coronavirus cases.
Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, Oadby, and Wigston, took to Twitter to announce that the “local lockdown had been lifted in the area and it was now subject to the same restrictions as the rest of Leicestershire.”
Pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, and hair salons in Leicester would be reopened from Monday; however, leisure centers, gyms, and pools will remain closed, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
A spokesperson of the department said, “Cinemas and museums are also allowed to open and religious ceremonies can take place.”
Liz Kendall, MP for Leicester West, tweeted she has spoken to Hancock and called it “great news.”
She said, “This has been an unbelievably difficult period for our city but people’s hard work and sacrifices have paid off.”
However, Kendall criticized the government’s handling of the lockdown, describing it as “totally shambolic” and “lessons must be learnt for the future to prevent others going through the same.”
Earlier, Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby had expressed his frustration over the government’s handling of the pandemic.
He said, “We haven’t got a clue what’s going on, we really haven’t. We’ve been messed about all day.” “They were going to make the announcement much earlier in the day, then they were going to make it around 4 pm, then 5 pm, and now we understand they’re not even going to discuss it until 6 pm,” Soulsby added. “What a way to run a country.”
