Lockdown restrictions in some parts of Leicestershire will be lifted as early as this weekend following a review by public health experts, the government has announced.
Areas outside of Leicester City and the borough of Oadby and Wigston will align with the rest of England from Saturday 18 July.
It means that non-essential shops, bars, restaurants and hairdressers will be permitted to open, along with schools and childcare centres.
However people living inside the restricted zone will have to wait until 24 July to use non-essential shops and schools because “prevalence of the virus is higher”.
Bars, restaurants and hairdressers will stay closed, with another review due to take place by 1 August.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I know the past two weeks have been difficult for those living in and around Leicester, especially those who have been shielding for so many weeks.
“While we are not yet in a position to lift all the restrictions in place, we are now able to take cautious steps to allow areas outside of Leicester City and the borough of Oadby and Wigston to fall in step with national guidelines and introduce some relaxations within the City of Leicester and the borough of Oadby and Wigston.
“I realise that this will be frustrating for those areas that remain under additional restrictions and I am determined to be straight with you all, we will ease restrictions as soon as the data shows that it is safe to do so.”
Shielding advice remains in place for the entire area of Leicester, including where restrictions have been lifted.
The government said the decision follow a fall in the seven-day infection rate in Leicester from 135 to 119 cases per 100,000 population, with 4.8 per cent of people testing positive.
Mr Hancock’s initial announcement on Thursday that the Leicester lockdown would last for another two weeks was met with anger and disappointment.
Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby accused the government of making a “party political” decision to keep city-wide restrictions even though data showed only 10 per cent of the city had higher infection rates.
“They have chosen to focus on the city geographical area, effectively the area of the county that votes Labour, and that’s just scandalous,” he said.
Additional reporting by Press Association
