■ HANCOCK ON CITY COMING OUT OF LOCKDOWN

DATA MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION - HEALTH MINISTER

THE Health Secretary has told the House of Commons that the infection rate in Leicester is falling, and the data is “moving in the right direction”.

Matt Hancock said, while updating the House on the coronavirus pandemic, the seven-day infection rate in the city had dropped.

But he reiterated the fact that local lockdown measures would not be lifted until July 18, at the earliest.

Mr Hancock said: “Last week we took difficult but vital decisions about Leicester. Since then, we’ve been working with Leicester and Leicestershire and I’m pleased to say that together we have brought down the seven-day infection rate from 135 to 117 cases per 100,000 people.”

He said despite some restrictions being relaxed, people must still stick to the guidance because “the virus exists only to spread”.

In response to the update, Jonathan Ashworth, Labour MP for Leicester South, asked Mr Hancock what the exit strategy would look like for Leicester and what an area that has gone into local lockdown has to do to “escape” it. Mr Hancock responded: “What we said when we took the measures just over a week ago is we needed to see 14 days of data, so we propose to make announcements on the next steps on July 18.

“Of course, if further measures are needed in the meantime to tighten up then we will take them immediately, but the good news is that the data are currently moving in the right direction.”

Mr Ashworth cited the German protocol where local lockdowns are lifted when cases reach 50 per 100,000 and asked if similar criteria will be applied in Leicester. Mr Hancock said: “We’re not going to use or give a specific figure because both the level and the rate of change matters. “If the level were lower but it was going up, that could be a worse situation than a higher level that is under control and falling. “So you’ve got to look at both the level and the rate of change.”

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We propose to make announcements on the next steps on July 18

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, pictured