Coronavirus in Leicester: latest advice

Leicester has now been placed into Tier 3: very high alert level. These rules came into force from 2 December. You can see the rules for Tier 3 on gov.uk.

This is a reflection of the serious situation here. Cases in Leicester are starting to fall, but they remain very high. The recent measures are beginning to work so we must keep going to protect our loved ones.

• Stay at home except for specific reasons, such as work or education.
• Limit your contact with other people.
• Don't mix with other households indoors or in private gardens, unless you have formed a support bubble as a single adult.
• Work from home if you can.
• Reduce the number of journeys you make.
• Walk or cycle if possible, or use buses outside peak times if you can.
• Stay 2m apart from anyone you do not live with.
• Wash or sanitise your hands regularly.
• Wear a face covering on buses, in shops, when dropping or collecting children at school, and in any space where distancing is difficult.
• Book a test and self-isolate as soon as you get symptoms.
• If you test positive, continue to stay at home for at least 10 days and until you feel better. Everyone you live with should stay at home for 10 days, even if they don't have symptoms.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus, please get tested as soon as you can.

The main symptoms of coronavirus are:

• high temperature
• continuous new cough
• loss of smell
• loss of taste.

Book your test online at nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or call 119.

Find answers to common questions about testing.

We currently have test centres open at:

• Aylestone Leisure Centre
• Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre
• Birstall Park and Ride
• Highfields Centre
• Humberstone Park
• Jubilee Square
• Overton Road
• Victoria Park

When you go for your test, wear a face covering and bring a photo ID as well as your booking number.

If you test positive for coronavirus, you must stay at home for at least 10 days and until you feel better. People in your household should also stay at home for 10 days.

If you have no symptoms of coronavirus but would like to take a test, you can now get a rapid test at Fosse Neighbourhood Centre on Mantle Road. It is open 9am-8pm from Monday to Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday. It will be closed 24-28 December and 1 January.

This is a pilot programme of the new lateral flow tests which give a result within an hour. Anyone without symptoms can walk in to ask for a test. Council staff will also be knocking on doors in the area to invite residents to walk in for an instant test, and to offer advice on self-isolation and support.

Anyone who gets a positive result from the new rapid tests will also need to take the standard, more accurate, PCR test to get their result confirmed. This PCR confirmatory test will be provided to anyone who gets a positive result.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, please do not go to this centre - book an appointment at one of the centres listed above.

Staff and trained volunteers have resumed knocking on doors in target areas to hand out testing kits and talk to residents about coronavirus. Please take the test if you are offered one, even if you do not have symptoms. This widespread community testing was an important factor in bringing down our infection rates over the summer.

Currently we plan to visit the following areas. However, the situation is rapidly changing so this schedule may change at short notice.

Saturday 19 December

• South and West Knighton, Evington

Sunday 20 December

• Belgrave, Evington, Hamilton

Monday 21 December

• Netherhall, Thurnby Lodge, Belgrave and Clarendon Park

Tuesday 22 December

• Northfields, Beaumont Leys

Wednesday 23 December

• Netherhall, Thurnby Lodge, Eyres Monsell, Humberstone

We are also knocking on doors in the West End, inviting people to take the new rapid tests at Fosse Neighbourhood Centre.

There will be no community testing 24-28 December or 1 January.

Contact tracing is a key part of public health measures to reduce and prevent the spread of coronavirus. The NHS test and trace service contacts those that test positive for coronavirus, provides you with some critical health advice, and asks where you've been recently and who you've been in close contact with. In Leicester the council carries out much of this tracing work.

If you have had a positive test result for coronavirus or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, you will be contacted by text, email, phone call or by household visit - either by us or the NHS.

This is an effective method of protecting people and slowing the spread of coronavirus by breaking the chain of transmission of the virus.

‘Contact’ means a person who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus and who may or may not live with them.

The NHS has announced that COVID-19 vaccinations will start at Leicester General Hospital from 12 December.

As laid out in the national guidelines, the first priority groups to receive the jab will be people aged over 80, care home workers and NHS staff who are at higher risk. Everyone who is vaccinated will need a booster jab 21 days later.

More vaccination sites will open in the city and the county as further supplies of the vaccine become available.

You do not need to take any action. The NHS will contact you if you are eligible for a vaccine and invite you for an appointment.

Government has said that on Christmas Day we will be allowed to form an exclusive Christmas bubble with up to two other households.

However, with the rate of infection so high, we urge you to celebrate responsibly and consider how forming a bubble could mean putting loved ones at increased risk. We all want to spend time with our families, but the truth is that this virus won’t become any less infectious just because it’s Christmas.

Please protect yourself, your family and others.

Find full information on Christmas bubbles at GOV.UK.