The week in which the PM announced that masks were to be compulsory in shops in England – from 24 July…  And we acquired our 700th follower – but several of them are Russian pornbots.

Local lockdowns in England

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 were made on 17 July and came into force yesterday. They empower local authorities to give directions – which must be reviewed at least once every seven days – relating to premises, events and public outdoor places in their own areas. They also give the Secretary of State power to direct a local authority to give such a direction or to revoke a direction. The latest Regulations are in addition to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020, as amended by the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. [With thanks to ObiterJ for the reminder.]

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 amend the definition of “the protected area” in the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Leicester) Regulations 2020, to refer only to the areas of Leicester City Council and the Borough of Oadby and Wigston. We suspect that this amendment may be problematic for anyone newly outside “the protected area” who wishes to travel to countries such as Belgium for which “Leicester” is a travel restricted area.

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