All bar one area in the top 100 list of English Covid infection rates...
(AND EVEN THAT ONE IS PLACED AT 101ST IN TABLE)
ONE area of Leicestershire is in the top 10 worst areas in England for coronavirus as the end of the national lockdown approaches.
Latest infection rate data ranks Oadby and Wigston borough ninth out of 315 council areas in the country.
It has a seven-day infection rate of 413.9 cases per 100,000 people – well above the national average of 209.1 cases per 100,000.
Leicester stands at 14th place in the table with a rate of 384.3 cases per 100,000.
Of all the Leicestershire council areas, only Hinckley and Bosworth, with a rate of 219.9 cases per 100,000 people, is close to the national average.
It is the only Leicestershire authority area outside the top 100 for infection rates – and only just at 101.
The city and the whole county was told by the government on Thursday that they would be placed in Tier 3, with the tightest restrictions to try to halt the spread of the virus when national lockdown ends on December 2.
Blaby district is 22nd in the table, compiled by the Press Association using Public Health England Data released on Thursday, and has a seven-day rate of 346.7 cases per 100,000.
Andrew Bridgen and Alicia Kearns, both pictured, the Tory MPs for North West Leicestershire and Melton respectively, both said yesterday said they would be lobbying the government to split the city from their constituencies when it carries out its first review of the tiers on December 16.
However, both areas have high infection rates in their own right of 250 and 279.9 cases per 100,000 people
Harborough has a seven-day infection rate of 272.9 and Charnwood’s is 227.6 cases per 100,000. All the data refers to the week leading up to Sunday, November 22.
The leader of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council has also vowed to push for the area to be moved down the new coronavirus tier system, as its infection rates are much lower than in other parts of the county. But while they are the lowest in Leicestershire at 219.9 per 100,000, they are higher than the national average of 209.1.
Councillor Stuart Bray, of the ruling Lib Dem group, has hit out at the borough being linked with other parts of the county and put in Tier 3, the highest level of restrictions, under the new measures.
The county as a whole has an infection rate of 305.2 cases per 100,000, while Hinckley and Bosworth’s figure has been dropping. Coun Bray said: “This is a devastating blow for our local businesses. I am gravely concerned about the impact of this extended closure on hospitality businesses and on jobs, particularly at a time of year that would usually be their busiest. “While we all want to avoid overwhelming the NHS and see infection rates kept under control, this new regional tiered system will hit our area hard. This approach effectively links areas with lower infection rates, like Hinckley and Bosworth, with areas that have much, much higher infection rates making it impossible for our local independent businesses to make any real impact on regional infection levels.
“It’s a bitter blow when our local businesses have already invested so much money and effort into making their businesses operate safely, and particularly so when we’ve already seen the results of everyone’s combined efforts to bring infection rates down in this area.
“Infection rates in the Hinckley and Bosworth area are currently among the lowest in Leicestershire and they are dropping.
“I will be pushing for a review at the earliest opportunity and trust that the review in two weeks’ time will see enough progress to allow for a move down the tier system.”
Non-essential shops and markets can reopen across all three tiers, as well as hairdressers and gyms and some sport facilities.
Infection rates in the Hinckley area are the lowest in Leicestershire and they are dropping
Stuart Bray, above right