News this morning has revealed that Leeds to be added to the Public Health England’s watchlist as a result of increased cases of coronavirus.
There were a reported 44 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, 2nd September. This brings the average cases to 29.4 per 100,000 people.
So far, despite neighbouring towns and cities like Bradford finding themselves with stricter measurements, Leeds has managed to maintain the infection rate.
While the rate of infection isn’t currently enough to impose any further measures, it looks as though things could change rather imminently.
After being added to the watchlist, Leeds will be subject to further monitoring and could face a potential local lockdown is cases don’t tail off.
Local authorities are urging people to follow the social distancing measures and maintain regular hand washing and or sanitising where possible.
What is Leeds doing to help with social distancing?
If you’ve ventured into town recently, you would have noticed a few changes. For example, in the Trinity shopping centre, there is a one-way system in place to stop crowds from coming into close contact with one another. You also have to wear a face mask while in the vicinity despite the indoor, outdoor design.
You may also notice that some shops are continuing to limit the number of people allowed in at any one time. Places like Primark and H&M now have socially distanced queue areas to ensure the shop floors remain a safe place.
Most businesses have also installed hand sanitising stations. You’ll likely find a few dotted around any shop, café and gym. Some places, like New Look, will even ask you to use the hand sanitiser before entering the shop. This means that you can comfortably pick up and touch clothes without worrying about coronavirus transmission.
Many of the restaurants are also taking cautionary measures. With spaced out seating and Perspex screens between tables, eateries like Tharavadu have adapted quickly to the government guidelines.
What can you so to help stop Leeds going into a lockdown?
To curb the rise of coronavirus cases, we all need to play our part.
That doesn’t mean we need to go back to living our lives as we did in total lockdown in March and April. Rather, we should be mindful with how we are going about our day-to-day lives.
For example, wearing a face mask. You may have spotted a lot of people incorrectly wearing a face mask. It could be covering just their mouth and not their nose or maybe even not wearing one at all. We all must wear a face mask that covers both our mouth and nose in areas where social distancing is not possible. Such as in the Trinity centre.
It’s also just as important to make use of these new hand sanitising stations installed by businesses and the council alike. Make sure to sanitise your hands before touching clothes, menus or cabinets. Luckily, the shortage of hand sanitiser is a thing of the past and picking up a small bottle to carry in your bag or pocket is easy.
We will be keeping a close eye on the lockdown measures in Leeds. Are you happy to go about your normal life, or are you staying at home for now?