Government U-Turn on travel advice for Leicester

Leicester’s Director of Public Health says the Government has confirmed that new advice published on its website was incorrect.

The government had updated its advice on Friday (21st May), advising people to avoid travelling in and out of affected areas unless it is essential

Leicester City Council was one of eight areas where the government said a new variant of Coronavirus, first identified in India, is spreading fastest.

The Council said they were not contacted by the government or Public Health England about the new guidance.

Professor Ivan Brown said:  “We had an urgent meeting with Government reps and other affected local authorities today (Tuesday, May 25), after we became aware that the Government had updated its website to include specific advice around Leicester and some other areas where the new Covid-19 variant has been identified as spreading.

“These officials confirmed there are no restrictions on travel in or out of each of our areas and it was a mistake to suggest there was.

“There are no local lockdowns and there is no justification for Leicester to be treated differently to the rest of the country.

“No-one from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or Public Health England contacted us about this advice, to explain the rationale behind it or give any other information. 

“As it stands, Leicester has lower rates of the variant than other parts of the country, and we have a plan in place for stepping up our vaccination rate as agreed with the Government last week.

“We always suggest that people should take a cautious approach and make sensible judgements when restrictions are eased as part of the Government’s roadmap, and that still applies.

“When making travel arrangements, or mixing indoors, we should all follow the necessary precautions which include ventilating rooms and vehicles if car sharing; wearing a face covering on public transport; and following the rule of two households or six people if meeting indoors.”

The change in guidance has prompted Ministers to be accused of creating, "confusion and uncertainty".

Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health, has previously not ruled out a return to 'local lockdowns'.