“Leicester is just 15 miles away – it’s our county town' - Harborough councillors want urgent answers as speculation grows that the Covid-19 lockdown is set to be extended in Leicester

A top Harborough councillor is demanding urgent answers as speculation grows that the Covid-19 lockdown is set to be extended in Leicester.

Cllr Phil Knowles wants to know if the crackdown could be extended into Harborough district after a stunning spike of almost 900 new cases in Leicester in the last fortnight.

The leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Harborough District Council has a special interest after becoming arguably the area’s leading health campaigner over the last 30 years.

Cllr Knowles told the Harborough Mail: “I am very concerned about this critical health issue.

“And I can understand why so many people across Harborough are concerned too.

“There’s a very real need to get the latest information from the Government about what’s happening here as soon as possible.”

The veteran health activist spoke as new reports suggest Leicester will be forced to extend the three-month lockdown for another two weeks from Saturday July 4.

The city’s Labour mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, said the Department of Health has written to him suggesting it will ask him to postpone opening pubs, hair salons, museums, playgrounds and public buildings like libraries until Saturday July 18.

The dramatic move could come as the rest of England starts to return to normal after a staggering 866 new cases of coronavirus in Leicester since the middle of June.

“We have a lot of important questions to ask about what is going to happen in Leicester.

“And we need to get the answers from the Government urgently,” insisted Cllr Knowles.

“There are so many things we need to know.

“Will any new lockdown in Leicester be highly localised?

“Will it be street by street – depending on the hotspots?

“How will the appropriate authorities enforce it?

“How are they going to handle this top to bottom?

“This is a very grey area – and we need to shed some light on it in the next day or two.”

The senior Liberal Democrat councillor emphasised the close daily links between Leicester, Market Harborough and the entire Harborough district.

“Leicester is just 15 miles away – it’s our county town.

“The city is the hub of Leicestershire.

“We have so many people travelling between Harborough and Leicester every day of the week – to work, visit family and friends, to shop and so much more,” said Cllr Knowles.

“So people are clearly worried that this movement and inter-action could help spread the virus.

“We need to understand where the Covid-19 spike is in Leicester.

“People fear and hate uncertainty – and that’s what we are dealing with here.

“Every day that passes is another day that a person with Covid-19 could be moving around.

“If there is a new lockdown imposed in Leicester will it also be put into place in communities such as Great Glen, Oadby and Wigston?

“People here are becoming increasingly concerned so we need urgent answers to all these questions now.”

Cllr Phil King, leader of Harborough council, said: “I can understand the concern about this.

“This is a vital issue because Harborough runs all the way up to Leicester.

“Walk across the road in some places on the edge of our district and you cross over into Leicester.

“So we are monitoring this moving situation very closely.”

The Conservative councillor urged people to continue to maintain social distancing, wash their hands and behave sensibly.

“It is critical that we continue to follow all the Government’s health and safety guidance on Covid-19.

“That’s why it’s absolutely vital that we have no more mass gatherings of the kind we saw at Little Bowden Recreation Ground in Market Harborough at the weekend,” declared Cllr King.

“Do these fools want to wreck all the sacrifices and good work of the last few months fighting this virus?

“Do they want a new coronavirus lockdown imposed here in Harborough?

“None of us wants that – so do what you can to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”