Harborough district is one of just 12 in England to suffer a weekly rise in Covid-19 cases

People across Harborough are being exhorted to stay vigilant as the district was one of just 12 in England to suffer a weekly rise in Covid-19 cases.

The call to be “especially careful and cautious” came from Cllr Phil Knowles as the latest Public Health England data was released.

The coronavirus infection rate in Harborough was 179.1 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to Thursday February 11.

That was up from 173.8 the week before and is above the national average of 148 as cases continue to drop in almost every part of the country.

Some 303 out of the 315 areas charted nationwide have seen a fall.

Harborough District ranked 71st in a list of 325 local authority areas in the country.

And Corby, just 11 miles from Market Harborough, has the highest rate of infection in England - 346.2 cases per 100,000 people.

Cllr Knowles, who heads up the Liberal Democrats on Harborough council, said: “This just goes to show that we cannot afford to be complacent in the slightest.

“Complacency is a major enemy.

“We are seeing so many positives at the moment with the vaccine rollout being such a massive success.

“It’s brilliant to see so many millions of people being vaccinated and protected against this terrible virus,” said the veteran health campaigner.

“But we all have to be vigilant.

“The rise in cases in Harborough over the last few days is small – but the trend is still going the wrong way and any increase is a negative.

“We all have to continue to keep our social distance, wear face coverings and wash our hands regularly.

“Covid can strike at any opportunity.

“So stay on your toes and don’t let your guard down.

“The sooner we get through this awful pandemic the better.

“So please be alert and let’s all unite to start to bring the Covid infection rate across Harborough back down again,” stressed Cllr Knowles.