Leicester lockdown eased further as beauty salons allowed to reopen

Leicester’s lockdown will ease further from Wednesday with nail bars, outdoor pools and beauty salons all permitted to reopen.

The move comes following a drop in coronavirus cases in the city, health secretary Matt Hancock said.

The East Midlands city was put in a local lockdown in June after a spike in infections.

Restrictions on gatherings in private homes and gardens will remain.

However, restrictions on tanning booths, spas, massage and tattoo parlours, and skin piercing services will be relaxed.

Guidance telling music venues and theatres to stay closed will also be dropped.

Hancock said: “My gratitude goes out to the people of Leicester who have all made sacrifices to keep the virus at bay and protect their local communities.

“The rate of infection has now dropped to a safe enough level to allow further businesses including beauty salons, nail bars and some outdoor venues to reopen in the area.

“Current restrictions on gatherings must remain in place to further bring down the rate of infection.”

Leicester was locked down at the end of June after Hancock revealed 10% of all new COVID-19 cases in England were in the area at that time.

Non-essential shops were shut and schools closed to all but vulnerable and critical workers’ children, while the city missed out on other reopenings implemented across England.

Some relaxations of the restrictions have since been enacted and the latest easing will bring the city into line with the easing of restrictions introduced for much of England on July 11 and 13.

Shielding for the most vulnerable will continue but with easing in Leicester to allow individuals to meet in a group of up to six people outdoors while maintaining social distancing.

Minal Parmar, the owner of the Beauty Refinery in Leicester, told the PA news agency: “I’m super excited because we have been closed since March and obviously lost lots of business throughout.

“I’ve answered so many phone calls from clients during lockdown and I just can’t wait to be open tomorrow.”

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said outdoor swimming pools will also be able to reopen, but the only one in Leicestershire is in Ashby de la Zouch, which is not in the lockdown area and was already open.

A spokeswoman for Leicester City Council said the announcement from the DHSC was the first she had heard of the move, despite the restrictions being reviewed on Monday.

The city is not the only area to have been put under local restrictions, which officials hope will keep the spread of COVID-19 in check without having to resort to a second nationwide lockdown.

Greater Manchester and parts of Lancashire and West Yorkshire are also subject to restrictions.

Residents in the affected areas have been told not to meet up inside private homes or gardens, unless in a support bubble, or to visit someone’s home or garden even if they live outside the areas under restrictions.

They have also been asked not to socialise with people they don’t live with in indoor venues, like pubs or restaurants, or visit friends and family in care homes apart from in “exceptional circumstances”.

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