RETURN TO LOCKDOWN
New rules and restrictions from Tuesday
REACTION AS TOWNS REJOIN CITY IN SPECIAL MEASURES
RULES banning people living in Oadby and Wigston from mixing with other households will come into force from Tuesday.
Pubs, restaurants, cafes and retail will all be able to stay open, but the tighter restrictions will bring the borough into line with Leicester.
The borough was only removed from the government’s watchlist eight days ago, but yesterday the new measures were announced.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “In Oadby and Wigston, residents will be banned from socialising with other people outside of their own households or support bubble in private homes and gardens.”
The area’s MP, Neil O’Brien, said: “We are being brought into line with Leicester. It’s in our hands now to take the right action, follow the rules and prevent the spread of the virus.
“If we do that we should be able to avoid a stricter local lockdown, which would be damaging for businesses. I’m pleased that shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes will be able to remain open.
“It’s now about respecting the rules and doing what we can.”
Mr O’Brien yesterday said he had lobbied the government in an attempt to prevent a full local lockdown.
Earlier this week it was revealed the borough has the second-highest seven-day infection rate in the country.
Only Bolton had a higher prevalence of the virus when comparing rates over seven days, and the area was also the only one in the top 10 where extra rules are not in place.
Leicestershire County Council’s director of public health, Mike Sandys, told the Mercury on Thursday that Oadby and Wigston’s rate now stands at 145.5 cases per 100,000 people.
For context, Leicester’s rate was 140 cases per 100,000 when it was the first area to be put into local lockdown at the end of June – and the city has been subject to some level of added restrictions ever since.
In an attempt to drive cases down, Oadby and Wigston Borough Council this week introduced a curfew on the area’s parks, banning the public from using them between 5pm and 7am.
Some residents expressed anger and confusion over the plans, asking why pubs and other settings were not also subject to new rules.
Mr Sandys said he believed the move was in response to a gathering of about 150 people in Willow Park, Wigston.
A council spokesman said there had been groups of people gathering on parks in groups larger than six and without social distancing, usually between 4.30pm and 10.30pm.
Covid marshals also hit the streets of Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston on Thursday.
The council has hired in the trained staff to patrol streets and visit businesses to ensure they are Covid secure.
A dedicated parks patrol will see the marshals accompanied by dogs when checking people are obeying the curfew.
Another team of two will be in town centres from 5pm until closing time of the area’s pubs and restaurants, to ensure the rules are followed.
A council spokesman said that the marshals did not have enforcement powers but would be engaging with the public and reminding them of key social distancing and hygiene measures.
The teams were, the spokesman said, working in partnership with other agencies whose staff could fine and prosecute people flouting the rules.
Councillor John Boyce, leader of the council, said “I appreciate that since the start of the pandemic you have been requested to follow restrictions and this has been hard to do.
“I want to thank everyone who has followed the guidance so far but please follow these new restrictions to try to stabilise and reduce the spread of the virus”