How will lockdown end in Leeds? Boris Johnson's 'cautious' exit strategy explained ahead of today's announcement

It will mean that Leeds will not revert back into any kind of local lockdown scheme, such as Tier 3 or Tier 2, when lockdown lifts, as happened over Christmas.

Instead, the Prime Minister will outline his blueprint for easing the stringent measures in England to Parliament on Monday, tasked with balancing a clamour of warnings from scientists to act gradually and calls from some Tory MPs to lift all legal restrictions by May.

Matt Hancock insisted that, despite the success of the vaccine rollout so far, and the “understandable” urge to return to normal life, the Government’s goal is to take a “cautious but irreversible approach”.

The current picture in Leeds is one of a city which has been stuck in some sort of restrictions for over 6 months. Local restrictions began in Leeds in October 2020, after the city was placed into Tier 2.

Leeds stayed in Tier 2 until an announcement of Tier 3 was made, which was superceded by another national lockdown.

That was lifted in December, when Leeds was put into Tier 3, which was then replaced by national lockdown again in January.

In a series of broadcast interviews on Sunday morning, Matt Hancock said there will be “weeks between the steps” so ministers can “watch carefully” the impact of each relaxation of the restrictions.