UK city faces lockdown extension as cases surge

Leicester is facing a two-week lockdown extension after it recorded 866 new cases of coronavirus in the last 14 days, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying that it is vital to be ready to crack down on local flare-ups.

Speaking during a visit to a construction site in west London, Mr Johnson said: "We are concerned about Leicester, we are concerned about any local outbreak.

"I want to stress to people that we are not out of the woods yet. We are making these cautious, calibrated steps, we are opening as much of hospitality as we can on July 4, opening as much of the economy as we can - some things, alas, still remain closed until they can become Covid-secure.

"But to make all that possible we have to remain vigilant."

He said the local "whack-a-mole" strategy had worked in Weston-super-Mare and where there had been outbreaks around GP surgeries in London.

"That's the same approach that we will bring to bear in Leicester as well."

He was speaking after Leicester's mayor Peter Soulsby said he was "angry and frustrated" that a meeting with government officials scheduled for this morning had been cancelled.

Mr Soulsby said a document sent to him by the government at around 1am had "very little substance" and only suggested that restrictions due to be lifted for the rest of the country on 4 July should remain in place for Leicester for an extra two weeks.

He said there was "incredible frustration" in getting figures out of the government "after weeks of asking", adding that some officials had visited Leicester, "talked to a few people" and had then "cobbled together" a report.

He described the report as "superficial" and "its description of Leicester is inaccurate and certainly it does not provide us with the information we need if we are to remain restricted for two weeks longer than the rest of the country".

The possible lockdown extension in Leicester comes as restrictions are being eased elsewhere, with parks and shops with outdoor entrances able to reopen in Scotland, and schools in Wales welcoming more pupils.

The Welsh government said schools will operate with staggered starts and breaks for "check-in, catch-up and prepare" sessions starting today.

Scotland has recorded no new deaths from people who have tested positive for coronavirus for four consecutive days.

The UK has been in a full lockdown since 20 March, which is one of the longest in Europe.

Mr Johnson has announced a massive economic response to the crisis saying the country faces "some bumpy times". 

He said the coronavirus crisis needed the type of response US president Franklin D Roosevelt mobilised to deal with the Great Depression, and he intends to unveil a spending programme in a speech dubbed by his office simply as "build, build, build".

"I think this is the moment for a Rooseveltian approach to the UK, really really moving forward," said Mr Johnson.

"I really think the investment will pay off."

President Roosevelt launched the New Deal programme in the 1930s that created a comprehensive social care system whose legacy lives on to this day.

The first part of Mr Johnson's initiative earmarks £1bn for school repairs.

"The country has gone through a profound shock. But in those moments you have the opportunity to change and to do things better," he said.

"We really want to build back better, to do things differently, to invest in infrastructure, transport, broadband - you name it."

Mr Johnson also admitted that his own experience with Covid-19 - he was treated at an intensive care unit in early April - made him reassess his hands-off approach to Britons' general fitness.

Some data suggest that people who are overweight have a higher mortality rate from the new virus.

Mr Johnson has admitted he is on a diet and said he "lost some weight" while recovering.

"I have taken a very libertarian stance (on fitness). But when you compare us to other countries, we are significantly fatter," he said.