Covid cases fall in the Harborough district as health bosses believe local prison outbreak has been self-contained

The number of people with Covid-19 in Harborough has fallen after the district was one of just 12 in England to see a rise the week before.

The weekly infection rate per 100,000 people across Harborough fell from 174.8 to 136.5 in the seven days to Friday February 19, the latest Public Health England statistics show.

Some 36 fewer people tested positive for the coronavirus, a 22 per cent decline in cases.

But the figure is still above the national average of 119.5 per 100,000 people as the East Midlands continues to be one of the country’s worst-hit regions.

Harborough now ranks 98th highest out of 325 areas in England – with neighbouring Corby still at the top of the table for new Covid cases.

The fall comes after the infection rate in Harborough climbed to 179.1 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to Thursday February 11 fuelled by a sudden outbreak at Gartree Prison.

Up to 20 people were hit at the 700-inmate high-security jail near Market Harborough.

Mike Sandys, the Director of Public Health for Leicestershire County Council, told the Harborough Mail last week: “The incident appears to be self-contained within the jail.

“There are no signs that it’s spilled out into the wider community.

“And it’s a lot smaller than the really serious outbreak of about 100 cases we had at nearby Stocken Prison in Rutland earlier this month.”

Mike added: “The cases at Gartree obviously helped to push up the rate here in Harborough.

“But they are by no means the only factor.

“We are still concerned about the 17-21-year-old age group right across Leicestershire while both the East Midlands and West Midlands are right up there nationally.

“We also have to look at people who still have to go to work.

“Workplaces such as distribution centres and warehouses, for example, could also be playing a part.

“So Lubenham is at the top of the current Covid cases table in Harborough due to the Gartree outbreak.

“But we also have Lutterworth and Fleckney up near the top too.

“And that could well be due to the huge Magna Park logistics complex being just up the road.”