Leicester may be facing a localised lockdown after a rise in coronavirus cases, according to Home Secretary Priti Patel.
This comes after roughly 25% of Leicester’s 2,494 confirmed COVID-19 cases had been reported in the fortnight before June 16.
Speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Priti confirmed the rise and said it was only “correct” that the government was considering the lockdown. Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, however, said there was no urgency of a local lockdown, when speaking on BBC Breakfast.
He said, “I don’t think that is an immediate prospect. After many weeks of asking, we now have that data and we are analysing it over this weekend, and hopefully early next week we will know whether we have a problem and if we have, where it is.”
Sir Peter went on to explain that he had been in contact with the chief medical officer and revealed that if the level of testing in Leicester had been greater, the situation would’ve been “far better”, adding, “Leicester is a large urban area, a total of nearly 600,000 people, with many neighbourhoods and communities within it.
“It’s only really if we know whether there is an issue, and where it might be, we can decide what if anything we need to do.”
After the Priti had words with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, she confirmed “extra support” would be going into the city, with her adding, “With local flare-ups, it is right we have a local solution.”