The British government is considering a local lockdown in Leicester following a spike in coronavirus cases in the city, according to Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Patel confirmed the government has been discussing the move, first reported by The Sunday Times.
According to the Times, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been has been examining the legislation required for imposing a lockdown in the East Midlands city after 658 cases — 25 percent of total cases at the time — were registered there in the two weeks before 16 June.
“With local flare-ups, it is right we have a local solution,” Patel said.
But Leicester Mayor Peter Soulsby said on Sunday that testing data was still being analyzed and there is “no immediate prospect” of a lockdown.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Soulsby said he hoped that “early next week we will know whether we have a problem and if we have, where it is.”