Rutland Council has clarified the situation with regards to 'variants of concern.'

The comments follow national media reporting government advice about local lockdowns, which the government later said was incorrect.

The advice included guidance to stay out of Leicester, as reported by Nub News.

Mike Sandys, Director for Public Health at Rutland County Council, said: "Earlier this week, the Government updated its website to include specific COVID-19 advice about Leicester and several other areas in England where the new variant of concern (VOC) has been identified.

"The Government has since confirmed that this new advice in relation to Leicester and other areas – suggesting that additional restrictions were to be put in place – was incorrect."

Mr Sandy's continued: "There are no local lockdowns in the UK and travel advice remains unchanged following the most recent update to national COVID restrictions on 17 May. We still need to be extremely careful.

"The new COVID variant (B1.617.2) is fast becoming the dominant strain in the UK. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, it's essential that we continue to follow public health guidance around social distancing, wearing face masks and washing hands regularly.

"Everyone should come forward for a vaccination when contacted and make certain they get both their first and second doses, to provide maximum protection against the virus. It is vital that we take every precaution against this new variant."

According to the UK government's [L] https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases [L+] Covid-19 tracker, Rutland has recorded just deaths in the week to Saturday, giving the county a 7-day infection rate of 10 cases per 100,000.

Over the same period, Leicester has recorded 230 cases, giving it a rate of 64.9 - six times the rate of Rutland.

This compares with an England average of 24.8 cases per 100,000.