Leicester’s nail & beauty salons can open from 19 August
By Helena Biggs | 18 August 2020 | Movers & Shakers, News
Health secretary, Matt Hancock, has announced that nail and beauty salons in Leicester can reopen from tomorrow (19 August) but coronavirus infections in the area ‘remain too high’ for the local lockdown to be fully lifted.
In a statement 18 August, Hancock commented: “My gratitude goes out to the people of Leicester who have all made sacrifices to keep the virus at bay and protect their local communities.”
While efforts are undertaken to slow the rate of infection further, he urged everyone in Leicester to continue following the rules by washing hands regularly and social distancing.
Hancock also announced that the government is forming a new organisation: the National Institute for Health Protection.
“The National Institute for Health Protection will have a single and relentless mission: protecting people from external threats to this country’s health,” he reveals. “External threats like biological weapons, pandemics, and of course infectious diseases of all kinds.
“It will combine our world-class talent and science infrastructure with the growing response capability of NHS Test and Trace and the sophisticated analytical capability we are building in the Joint Biosecurity Centre. Of course, these institutions work incredibly closely together already today. But I want that integration to be seamless.
“Crucially, it will be a national Institute that works very much locally, working with local directors of public health and their teams, who are the unsung heroes of health protection. Their local insight and intelligence is a mission-critical part of our response.
“The National Institute for Health Protection will also work closely with the devolved administrations, taking on existing UK-wide responsibilities, and supporting all 4 Chief Medical Officers with access to the best scientific and analytical advice. By bringing these parts of the system together, we can get more than the sum of the parts.
“And the mission is for a purpose. So we have a stronger, more joined-up response to protect people and the communities in which they live.”