Leicester Lockdown: Who's in charge and how did it unfold?
By ITV Central Producer, Raheem Rashid
A local lockdown in Leicester was announced on the evening of Monday 29th June.
It was after 866 people tested positive for the virus in the two weeks leading up to July.
The spike accounted for 10% of the country's entire coronavirus cases.
At the time, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said the local lockdown was to try and crack down on rising numbers in the city.
But, two and a half weeks on, patience has started to wear thin and public spats have broken out between local and national politicians about how and why it happened.
So, who's in charge and how did we get here?
The Fight over Figures:
The City's Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, has claimed from the start that he wasn't being shown all of the testing data - information which was being used to make decisions about Leicester's lockdown.
He now claims the whole lockdown was unnecessary, as he's now seen data which shows only a very small number of inner-city areas had high infection rates.
He says given what the data shows, "it is no longer possible to justify the continuation of the “lockdown” across the remaining 90% of the Greater Leicester area."
So who's really been making the decisions, and what data have they been using?
What does Leicester City Council say?
Sir Peter Soulsby is the city's mayor and the face of the city council.
The weekend before the lockdown was announced he said he had little faith in the evidence.
But, just a day later, on Monday 29th June, his tone had changed - he now seemed fairly relaxed about the proposition:
And when the local lockdown was officially announced, the Mayor told reporters that the lockdown “was I think more wide-ranging than we’d anticipated” but that he was "grateful for that," because it is "something that has some realistic prospect of being effective.”
He called early on for data on "which neighbourhoods, which communities, indeed which streets" were affected.
But, over the weeks his frustrations have grown. He claims data being provided to local health officials is:
Not detailed enough
Up to two weeks out of date
And, doesn't justify a lockdown
Meanwhile, on 9th July he published a seven-page account of the days leading up to the decision on the council's website, saying he'd received conflicting information from Public Health England and the government.
He also claimed he wasn't getting help which had been promised, or permission to offer help locally.
Then, on 13th July, having received new data, Mr Soulsby said there was proof that the spike in coronavirus cases is confined to a very small number of inner city areas, and thus the lockdown was unnecessary.
Today he says he does finally have the data he needs, but he maintains that the government has "failed to recognise that they need to engage with local people, local councils...if they'd given us the data we could have done that weeks ago."
What does the Government say?
Matt Hancock officially announced the lockdown on 29th June.
He said various measures had been tried in Leicester "but it was clear that we needed to take this further action".
On testing data, health officials maintain they've been sending relevant and detailed information "for weeks."
In response to the claims that the restrictions have been too widespread, the Department of Health told us:
The government says any lifting of the lockdown in Leicester "can't be rushed" and must be based on infection rates falling.
How did the lockdown unfold?
Sunday 28th June
The idea of a local lockdown in Leicester is now widely being discussed.
Sir Peter Soulsby says it would have to be based on the evidence and as yet he doesn't have the evidence, and doesn't believe the Government does either.
Monday 29th June
Soulsby meets with Government health officials, and the lockdown is announced later that evening.
Tuesday 30th June
Non-essential shops close...there's mixed reaction from people within the city.
Thursday 2nd July
Schools in Leicester close again to most pupils.
Some people living in the city report an increase in racism following the announcement of the local lockdown.
It came on the same day as a report found there was no obvious source for the outbreak - with no one school, workplace or medical setting responsible
Friday 3rd July
Allegations are made that textile manufacturers may have contributed to the surge. Firms hit back saying the claims were hugely misleading and bad for the industry.
Saturday 4th July
Lockdown ends for the rest of the country.
While the rest of the country is allowed to have their first pint in a new post-lockdown world, pubs and restaurants in Leicester stay shut.
Thursday 9th July
Sir Peter Soulsby says he still has no confidence in the information being passed to him justifying why the city went into lockdown.As well as that, in an exclusive interview with ITV News Central, a former factory worker in Leicester claims staff were exploited and forced to work in poor conditions with low pay.
Friday 10th July
The Health and Safety Executive tell ITV News Central they've been investigating firms throughout the week. They said they were impressed with most of the factories they visited but there were concerns.
Samantha Wells, Health and Safety Executive
Testing is stepped up in the city, with more mobile testing units being built in areas like Spinney Hill Park.
Saturday 11th July
MPs in Leicester write to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to provide financial support for the city.
Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi says there are "no plans" for any further aid measures, beyond the furlough scheme and business grants.
Monday 13th July
New testing data shows the rate of new cases in Leicester has fallen.
Sir Peter Soulsby says he's “finally” been given “useful data” which he asked for weeks ago.
He said it shows the local lockdown was unjustified and preventable, as only a small number of neighbourhoods (around 10% of the city) had higher than expected Covid-19 transmission rates.
But health officials say any decision to lift Leicester's lockdown "can't be rushed" and will depend on coronavirus rates falling.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said the city is still “quite an outlier" compared with the rest of the country, adding: "The situation has improved but it needs to go further."
Tuesday 14th July
The Health Secretary says a review of the lockdown will take place on Thursday (16th July).
He adds testing measures have been stepped up and the numbers have been seen to be falling. Though he adds caution, saying "the number of positive cases in Leicester is still well above the rest of the country."
On the same day, more than 9,000 households in Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire were told to get tested for the virus - whether they have symptoms or not.
Residents were sent texts by their GP and given leaflets.
Wednesday 15th July
Sir Peter Soulsby says he has "no idea" what will be announced tomorrow, but does now have more complete data about where the cases are in the city.
He says given what this data shows, "it is no longer possible to justify the continuation of the “lockdown” across the remaining 90% of the Greater Leicester area."
Thursday 16th July
The government will review the lockdown measures in Leicester, with the Health Secretary saying an announcement will be made "as soon as is reasonably possible."
The Speaker of the House tells MPs the Health Secretary is to make an "important statement" providing a coronavirus update at 5pm.
Analysis:
Read more: