51Âþ»­

With the current national lockdown due to end next Wednesday (2 December), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that Leicester and the county will be placed in Tier three. This means the city will be under the toughest level of measures to restrict the spread of Covid-19.

What does this mean for the 51Âþ»­ community?

The changes to restrictions from next Thursday (3 December) do not impact the current operations of the university and we remain committed to our existing plans for the student travel window.

How do Tier 3 restrictions in Leicester differ to current lockdown rules?

From next Thursday (3 December), non-essential shops, hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms and leisure centres in the city are amongst the facilities that can re-open. However, the QEII Leisure Centre will remain closed until the new year and reopen on Monday 4 January 2021. Should any staff or student members want to access the gym only from Thursday 3 December until the end of term (18 December), please contact the Leisure Centre directly. Under the new restrictions:

• people in Leicester will no longer be able to meet up with other households in a private garden.
• meetings in parks or other public outdoor places are permitted, as long as no more than six people are present and social distancing is observed.
• mixing in any indoor setting with people you don’t live with – unless you are in a support bubble with them – is still not permitted.
• People can continue to travel to venues or amenities that are open, but all pubs, cafes and restaurants will remain closed while Leicester is in Tier 3, and museums, cinemas, theatres and hotels – with some exceptions – are amongst the facilities that must also remain closed.
• Take-away services in the city can continue.

You can find out more about and further details on . For any students leaving Leicester during the ‘student travel window’, or for colleagues living and working away from the city, it is important to know and . People living inside and outside of the affected local areas (even if you’re based in Tier 1 or Tier 2 areas) can continue to travel in and out for work/study.

Please continue to adhere to our comprehensive safety advice to keep each other and our community safe. 

Reminder to record seat numbers

To further boost awareness to always record seat numbers for 51Âþ»­ Safe Trace when attending face-to-face teaching on campus we have created an infographic to serve as a useful reminder (See below).

We’ve also recently filmed a video story on Instagram to reinforce safety messaging to students (and staff) .