Probe into parts of city where cases very high
RATES OF VIRUS IN NORTH AREAS
PUBLIC health officials in Leicester have said they are actively investigating why two parts of the city are showing very high coronavirus infection rates.
Latest council analysis of the virus situation across 37 neighbourhoods has shown Rushey Fields and Stocking Farm and Mowmacre, both in the north of the city, are recording worrying levels of the virus.
Both areas had infection rates of nearly 500 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days up to February 26 - way higher than the city average.
Ashby - which had the highest rate in England at that time - had a rate of 197.9 cases per 100,000 (see adjacent page).
The apparent discrepancy in figures comes about as the high rate of infections in the north of the city are brought down again when combined with the rest of Leicester for the official data.
A city council spokeswoman said: “We are actively investigating why these areas have higher rates.
“Currently, we have not found a specific cause, for example, a workplace, and think it is most likely to be community and household transmission.”
She added: “We remind everyone how vital it is we all continue to follow the rules to help bring numbers down.
“Stay at home wherever possible, wash hands often, wear a face covering when needed and keep two metres apart from people you don’t live with.
“You can get tested regularly at our rapid testing centres and please have the vaccine when it is offered to you.
“Now that schools have reopened, it’s vital that parents wait for restrictions to ease before socialising with others at the school gates.”
There were 736 cases across the city in the week up to February 26, a fall from 909 in the prior week.
At that time the city’s overall infection rate was 207.8 cases per 100,000, and although this has now dropped to 145.1 cases per 100,000 people officials remain concerned about the virus situation in pockets of the north of the city.