Cases spike in city district

INQUIRY UNDER WAY INTO CAUSE OF SHARP RISE

health experts are investigating why one particular part of Leicester has recorded much higher numbers of coronavirus cases than others in recent weeks.

Leicester City Council’s latest analysis of new infections has shown that, while the virus is spreading across all areas, Hamilton has seen a particular spike. In the fortnight leading up January 8, there were 264 cases of Covid-19 identified in Hamilton.

It was the largest number of cases, over the period, in any of Leicester’s 37 neighbourhoods.

The seven-day infection rate in Hamilton over the two weeks averPUBLIC aged nearly 920 cases per 100,000 people, much higher than the present national average of 655 cases per 100,000.

The average rate of infection across the city, as of Thursday night, was just under 600 cases per 100,000.

Public health officials said they were sifting through the data to establish why coronavirus has spiked far more sharply there than in other parts of the city, though such surges are often linked to workplace or care home outbreaks.

Director of public health Professor Ivan Browne has said there are some indications the national lockdown is beginning to halt what has been a rapid spread of the mutant strain of the virus in the city since before Christmas.

He has urged people to continue to stay at home unless it is absolutely essential to go out and redouble their efforts to keep two metres away from those they do not live with, while covering their faces and regularly washing hands thoroughly.