Coronavirus: 10 Towns & Cities Where Local Lockdowns Could Follow In Leicester’s Footsteps

30 June 2020, 13:22

Which other places could follow Leicester in a local coronavirus lockdown?

Leicester has become the first city in the UK to have a local lockdown after coronavirus cases in the area were reported as three times higher than the rest of the country.

The lockdown extension begins today [June 30] and Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also confirmed that Leicestershire Police will be enforcing the measures.

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He told the BBC: "Leicester is very significantly worse than other cities."

"It's so important that we get a grip on this spike that has happened in Leicester. We will be closing the shops by law and will be changing the law in the next day or two to do that.”

But which other towns and cities in the UK could be next?

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Non-essential shops, which reopened on June 15, will now go on to close on June 30.

This means that Leicester’s pubs, bars, restaurants and hairdressers will not benefit from the upcoming lockdown ease on July 4, unlike the rest of the country.

However, Leicester is not the only place experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases.

New cases have been reported as the country has seen its lockdown measures eased, but which places could follow in Leicester’s footsteps?

According to a number of reports, there is a potential of over 30 places that could see a local lockdown amid the Leicester lockdown.

A tabloid revealed the ten most-affected areas are:

1 - Doncaster

2 - Derbyshire

3 - Hammersmith & Fulham

4 - Medway

5 - Hounslow

6 - Ealing

7 - Westminister

8 - Brent

9 - Kensington & Chelsea

10 - Sandwell

Doncaster has been named the second-highest in newly reported infections in recent weeks, according to The Telegraph, after Leicester.

Last month, Matt Hancock said that local lockdowns could be seen as a way to control the virus if there are ‘flare-ups’ in specific regions.

He said: "We will have local lockdowns in future where there are flare-ups and we have a system we are putting in place with a combination of Public Health England and the new Joint Biosecurity Centre, along with the local directors of public health who play an absolutely crucial role in the decision-making in the system, to make sure if there is a local flare-up there is a local lockdown.

"And so local lockdowns will be part of the future system that we put in place as part of the NHS test-and-trace system."

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