Belgium tells citizens to avoid Leicester amid city's local coronavirus lockdown

Belgium has told its citizens to avoid Leicester after the British city went back into lockdown at the end of June amid a spike in coronavirus case numbers.

The Belgian foreign affairs department says that “travel is currently not allowed” and “quarantine is mandatory upon your return” from the east Midlands city.

Other European regions in Belgium's "red zone" include parts of Spain and Portugal, where coronavirus infections are also relatively high.

The travel advice is based on “currently available information,” according to a note on a Belgian government website.

It also gives Belgians the green light to travel to other areas of the EU, the Schengen zone and other parts of the United Kingdom

Leicester became the UK's first city to go back into coronavirus lockdown on June 30 after a sustained increase in coronavirus cases in the area, which appear to be driven by outbreaks in clothing factories and food processing plants.

The Sunday Times reported allegations that workers in Leicester’s Jaswal Fashions factory, which makes clothes for Boohoo brand Nasty Gal, were operating without social distancing measures in place while being paid as little as £3.50 an hour.

Speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge show last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Well we’ve seen outbreaks in food factories and in clothing factories. There are some quite significant concerns about some of the employment practices in some of the clothing factories in Leicester.

“They are important problems to deal with, but the number one problem that we’ve got to deal with is getting this virus under control.”

The new restrictions in Leicester will be in place until at least July 18.

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