A scientist advising the Government on the coronavirus response warned that more local lockdowns should be expected.
Oxford University’s Professor Peter Horby, who chairs the new and emerging respiratory virus threats advisory group (Nervtag), was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if the public should brace for more local outbreaks.
“Unfortunately I think we should. We’ve seen the epidemic is focal, which is often the case, it’s not the same in all places,” he said.
“And we saw that London unfortunately led the way in the UK and now Leicester is unfortunately leading the way and we can expect more of that, so I think there will have to be local responses to local outbreaks.”
Leicester has this week been plunged deeper back into lockdown with shops and schools closed.
It will also not see pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopen on Saturday when the rest of the Uk does.
It will stay in lockdown until at least July 18 when the measures will be reviewed.
It comes after the city saws a rapid rise in cases - three times higher than anywhere else in the country.
There are more than 30 places in England currently seeing cases of coronavirus rise rather than fall.
- Barking and Dagenham
- Brent
- Derbyshire
- Doncaster
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Gateshead
- Gloucestershire
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hounslow
- Isle of Wight
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Leicester
- Medway
- Milton Keynes
- Plymouth
- Portsmouth
- Redbridge
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Richmond upon Thames
- Sandwell
- Slough
- Suffolk
- Sunderland
- Tower Hamlets
- Wakefield
- Walsall
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
- Wigan
- Wiltshire
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- York
