Leicester Lockdown: What are the new rules and why is there so much confusion?
By ITV Central Producer, Raheem Rashid
Pubs, cafes, hairdressers, cinemas, museums, restaurants and places of worship can reopen in Leicester after local lockdown restrictions were partially lifted.
Restrictions were eased four weeks after it became the first city in the UK to have local lockdown measures imposed.
Social gathering restrictions remain in place and leisure centres, gyms and pools will stay closed.
The infection rate in the city has fallen to 55 per 100,000 people, down from 135 at the start of the local lockdown
The Department of Health confirmed in Leicester City:
Non-essential shops can now reopen
So too can schools and educational settings
They also said from Monday 3rd August, the following places can reopen in the City:
Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs
Places of Worship
Hairdressers
Libraries, community centres and social clubs
Cinemas, bingo halls, theatres and concert halls
Aquariums, zoos, safari parks, farms and wildlife centres
Museums and galleries
Outdoor playgrounds and gyms
Funfairs, theme parks and amusement arcades
Model villages
Hotels, holiday apartments, cottages, bungalows, campsites, caravan parks and boarding houses
Although, some restrictions will remain in place in Leicester City Centre:
Leisure centres, gyms and pools must stay closed
People should not meet in private homes or gardens (this includes people who live within the area travelling to visit someone who lives outside Leicester)
The clinically extremely vulnerable should continue to shield
Meanwhile, the following advice now stands for those in the local lockdown who are looking to meet other households:
Single-adult households (those who live alone or with dependent children only) can still form a support bubble with one other household
People from different households are still able to meet in a group of up to 6 and only outdoors, provided they follow strict social distancing
Local lockdown restrictions have been lifted for the Borough of Oadby and Wigston from 1 August.
The Leader of Oadby & Wigston Borough Council, John Boyce, says he's "absolutely delighted" the area is out of lockdown.
The MP for Harborough, Oadby & Wigston, Neil O'Brien, confirms the borough is out of lockdown from Saturday.
And if you live in the Charnwood or Blaby districts:
The advice to shield will be paused from 17 August
Why has there been so much confusion about the new rules?
The announcement on Leicester's new lockdown restrictions trickled in throughout the night.
People were meant to find out the result of the Health Secretary's Review by 3pm yesterday.
That was then delayed, with rumours circulating on social media that the decision may happen at 6pm, 8pm, or even the next day (Friday 31st July).
By 20:00, it was clear that local residents and politicians - including Matt Hancock's counterpart, the shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth, were fast becoming restless:
At 21:17, the people of Leicester City were given their first indication about what might be happening to them.
Matt Hancock tweeted that parts of Northern England were to enter localised lockdown.
The only mention of Leicester City came at the very bottom of a picture he posted, which outlined the new rules up North.
It meant the City would soon be subject to 'new' restrictions on social gatherings.
That would prove to be Matt Hancock's only tweet about Leicester last night.
Nearly an hour later residents were finally given a clearer picture of Leicester's fate.
It was after a local Conservative MP tweeted out the news he'd received from inside sources - though there was still no official Government announcement.
At 21:51, Neil O'Brien, the MP whose constituency represents Oadby and Wigston, said:
At this point, it had been nearly an hour since Matt Hancock announced restrictions in the North, yet Leicester City still didn't know what exactly was happening to it.
Even the residents of Oadby and Wigston remained in limbo over when they'd have their restrictions lifted.
Then, at 22:05, the Labour MP for Leicester West announced she'd just had a call with a Government Minister - tweeting out a list of restrictions that would soon be lifted in the City.
It was arguably the first substantial piece of information of the night:
Yet, there was still no official comment from the Government - or date as to when the restrictions would be eased.
At 22:17, Liz Kendall tweeted out again, this time apologising for a lack of detail on the review announcement - even though it was out of her control:
Around 20 minutes later, at 22:35, the Labour MP for Leicester East said she'd just had a phone call with Ministers, and branded their messaging as "confusing."
Then, as the clock approached midnight, the Department of Health finally put out a press release, confirming what many Opposition MPs had been tweeting about all evening.
Though there was still confusion:
At 01:10am this morning, Claudia Webbe directly asked Matt Hancock for more detail on the new measures:
Then at 07:53, Nick O'Brien tweeted out saying Oadby and Wigston's restrictions had been lifted at midnight.
Though this directly contradicted what the Borough Council had been putting out - saying restrictions for the area were to be lifted from Monday 3rd August.
At 09:54 this morning, the Shadow Health Secretary announced further guidance had finally been issued by the Government.
And it took until 13:12 today (31st July) for Oadby and Wigston Borough Council to issue a final correction, saying it was "taking its lead" from the official Government advice, and not that of the local MP.
With that, it brought an end to the chaotic announcement proceedings - more than 16 hours after they began.
Earlier this morning, the Health Secretary defended the way the Department of Health released information on England's lockdown changes overnight.
Read more:
'We tried other things but they didn't work': Hancock on Leicester's lockdown
Where has the government imposed stricter coronavirus restrictions?