Leicester lessons

End this ‘local lockdown’ chaos

THE WEEKLY Covid-19 surveillance report from Public Health England – which is due out today – takes on added significance as Leicester comes to terms with the consequences of an extended lockdown amid claims that there was a ‘lost week’ before the Government acted.

It also comes after last Thursday’s update confirmed specific spikes – more than 45 cases per 100,000 people – in four locations. As well as Leicester, Barnsley, Bradford and Rochdale fell into this category. Also on the radar is Kirklees – one of six areas where there were between 30 and 44.9 cases for every 100,000 residents.

And while this transparency is important as the country moves to the next phase of its recovery, starting with the opening up of the hospitality sector, it’s also vital that Britain proceeds with great caution.

This applies to each and every family following the exemplary example set by the overwhelming majority and remaining complaining with protocols on public health and social distancing.

It also requires all politicians to be more responsive when evidence emergences of a spike in infections – the exchanges between both Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions gave the impression, inadvertently or otherwise, that public health was playing second fiddle to party politics.

This should not be the case and it will require the closest co-operation between all agencies to contain new outbreaks and put testing arrangements in place. Confusion is not a policy, hence why lessons from Leicester need to be learned quickly before further local lockdowns are triggered.