Nail bars, salons and some outdoor venues to reopen in Leicester
In collaboration with local leaders, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock has agreed to ease certain restrictions in Leicester.
- Nail bars, outdoor pools, and beauty salons can reopen in Leicester from tomorrow (19 August)
- Current rules for gatherings in private homes and gardens will remain in place
- Government will continue to monitor the situation and keep all restrictions and easements under consideration
Nail bars, beauty salons, tanning booths and salons, spas and beauty salons, massage parlours, tattoo parlours, body and skin piercing services, and outdoor pools can lawfully reopen from tomorrow (19 August). This will bring Leicester in line with the national easements introduced on 11 and 13 July.
Outdoor music venues and theatres are already legally allowed to reopen, but will now also be removed from guidance that recommended they stay closed.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of the local communities, enough progress has been made to allow these easements. Infection rates remain too high to be fully lifted, so a restriction on gatherings will continue, in line with Greater Manchester, and parts of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire. Gatherings will not be permitted in private homes and gardens.
Health Secretary Matt 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.
We must remain vigilant, and I urge everyone in Leicester to continue to follow the rules: wash your hands regularly, follow social distancing, get yourself a free test as soon as you get any symptoms, and isolate if NHS Test and Trace tells you to.
All local restrictions are kept under constant consideration, including ahead of any formal reviews. As part of ensuring a proportionate yet robust response to the virus, where possible, the government will remove individual areas from these measures while maintaining or even strengthening measures in other places as necessary – just as has been done in other areas where local measures have been brought in, such as Leicestershire.
Shielding will remain in place but with some easements. If you are shielding in Leicester you may now meet in a group of up to 6 people outdoors, including people from different households, while maintaining strict social distancing. If you live in a single-adult household and are shielding, you can now join a support bubble with one other household.
The easing of restrictions that took place on 15 August in England will not apply in Leicester.
There are currently 7 mobile testing units deployed across the city and 4 local test sites as well as the regional testing site and they will continue to provide significant testing capacity to the area.
Further information
The Leicester restrictions were reviewed on Monday 17 August. The Health and Social Care Secretary accepted the recommendation to implement the business easements introduced nationally on 11 and 13 July. The amending Regulations were signed today (18 August) and will come into force at 00:01 on Wednesday 19 August 2020.
Leicester City will come in line with the 11 and 13 July national easing of restrictions, meaning the following can reopen:
- outdoor pools
- nail bars and salons
- tanning booths and salons
- spas and beauty salons
- massage parlours
- tattoo parlours
- body and skin piercing services
In addition, guidance will also be changed to remove recommendations that the following remain closed:
- outdoor theatres
- outdoor opera and music venues
Shielding remains in place in Leicester but will be relaxed to include the following:
- you may, if you wish, meet in a group of up to 6 people outdoors, including people from different households, while maintaining strict social distancing
- you do not need to observe social distancing with other members of your household
- if you are a single-adult household (either an adult living alone or with dependent children under 18), you may, if you wish, also form a ‘support bubble’ with one other household. All those in a support bubble will be able to spend time together inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to socially distance
Current restrictions on gatherings remain in place. You must not:
- meet people you do not live with inside a private home or garden, except where you have formed a support bubble (or for other limited exemptions to be specified in law)
- visit someone else’s home or garden even if they live outside of the affected areas
The easements that happened nationally on 15 August will not apply to Leicester. These are opening casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks, exhibitions halls and conference centres, with guidance on restarting indoor theatrical/concert performances, pilots for large crowds in sports and business events, enabling remaining close contact services to resume (for example, certain procedures in beauty salons), reopening steam rooms and saunas, allowing wedding receptions for up to 30 people.