Find out which category Harborough has been placed in as part of the Government’s new three-tier coronavirus system

Harborough has been placed in the medium risk Tier 1 in the Government’s new three-tier coronavirus system.

And in other coronavirus-related news, two members of staff are back at work after they tested positive for Covid-19 at a care home in Market Harborough.

The man and woman are both carers at Lenthall House on Lenthall Square off Western Avenue.

They both went back to working at the 39-resident care home on Market Harborough’s Southern Estate on Sunday (October 11).

Doina Merry, 39, the manager at Lenthall House. told the Harborough Mail: “Unfortunately, we have had two members of staff, both carers, who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

“It’s very difficult to spot because they didn’t show any symptoms.”

She added: “They obviously self-isolated at home for 10 days.

“The two of them returned to work for us on Sunday and they are doing fine now thank goodness.”

Doina said that their 39 elderly residents were forced to isolate in their rooms for 14 days.

“It’s not been an easy time as you can imagine but most of our residents understood why they have had to do this.

“Our 55 staff are doing a fantastic job in what has been a very hard year,” said Doina, of Smeeton Westerby.

“It has been exhausting, both mentally and physically.

“I know of other care homes where there have been real problems.

“But my staff here have been absolutely amazing – I cannot fault their commitment, tireless work and dedication.

“We have to be so careful all the time.

“All of our guests are elderly and vulnerable.

“Our oldest resident is 103 years old next month.

“And we have residents, too, who have tested positive for the virus.

“But we all get tested twice a week and all staff and residents have their temperatures taken morning and afternoon.

“We have the full PPE kit now as well,” said the hard-working mum-of-three.

“We play bingo and other games and activities with our guests.

“They have daily phone calls with their families and we see to their every need as well as trying to keep them entertained and happy.

“The toughest things are that we are all working with the unknown here and we don’t know how long this terrible pandemic is going to last.

“I’d just urge everyone in Market Harborough to take every possible precaution to help stop this horrible virus spreading.”

Doina said they are now recruiting extra staff to step up the carer-resident ratio even more.

Doina spoke as Cllr Phil King, who leads Harborough council, echoed her heartfelt plea to people to help stop Covid-19 in its tracks.

“There is no room for complacency here as we continue to battle the coronavirus across Harborough.

“I’d urge everyone to wash their hands regularly for 20 seconds at a time, keep your social distance and wear a face covering.

“The rate of infection has been climbing across the country and we need to do everything we can to reverse that,” insisted Phil.

“I welcome Government moves to hand more powers to mayors and councils to play a bigger part in beating the virus.

“We have the local knowledge, data and information to take decisions about fighting Covid-19 in our own areas.

“There is a fine line to walk between protecting our health and maintaining our wealth.

“So please do all you can to stay safe and keep everyone else safe.

“But at the same time please shop locally and support our local businesses in Harborough to keep our local economy afloat and strong.

“We also have to protect local people’s jobs and keep as many people in work as we can right across the board.”