THE FIRST TASTE OF FREEDOM
Pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops bring out the crowds
LIFE started to return to lockeddown Leicester city centre yesterday as non-essential shops were able to reopen for the first time in months.
Shoppers began queuing early to be among the first to start spending at businesses that have had their shutters down since December.
Hundreds joined a socially-distanced line, monitored by councilhired stewards, outside Primark, in Humberstone Gate which snaked all the way back to the Haymarket bus station.
Anindita Chouhan, 21, from Rushey Mead was waiting in line. She said: “This queue is crazy but I must be crazy to come and stand in it. I’ve missed shopping so much because it’s just a bit of normal for us all.
“Primark haven’t been doing any online selling during lockdown so that’s why I’ve come – and probably everyone else.”
Many of the 3,000 staff at the Highcross shopping centre returned to work from furlough for the first time in a year.
Highcross general manager Jo Tallack said: “We’re really excited to be back. It’s been a tough year for our retailers.
“There have been some casualties but most of our retailers are back.
“We were busier than we would be for a normal Monday but I think a lot of people will not be rushing out, they will wait a bit and trade will start to build up slowly. Some people will be naturally cautious about coming back and will want to avoid the rush and we know that.
“We have been working so hard towards getting everything ready and safe.”
Troy Dean, 53, went to The Market Tavern with friends to celebrate the return of outdoor drinking and dining. It has an outdoor seating area in nearby Green Dragon Square.
He said: “The city centre has been so depressing for months but now there’s a bit of life coming back. It feels good.
“We can’t stay at home forever.” Miguel D’Almeida, owner of Almeida’s Coffee and juice bar, in The Lanes, said he felt happy and strange to be reopening.
He said: “It feels surreal but it is really nice to see some friendly faces coming back in.
“I am nervous about whether things might start to go wrong again.
“I think it was too soon to be selling alcohol because judging from what I’ve seen already people don’t follow the advice when they have been drinking.”
The coronavirus infection rate in the city is still more than double the national average and public health officials are urging people to enjoy the new freedoms with caution.
There are concerns another rise in numbers could see Leicester singled out for more restrictions or a delay to some of the measures coming up in the government’s roadmap out of lockdown.