Coronavirus: Melton Mowbray steps up testing after rise in cases
- Published
The area is famous for its cheese and pork pies
Coronavirus testing is being ramped up in a Leicestershire town following a rise in cases.
The borough of Melton has seen 31 new cases over the past fortnight and is now ranked 10th in England for seven-day infection rates.
A temporary test centre is due to open in Melton Mowbray town centre on Thursday for anyone with symptoms.
The borough, with a population of about 50,000, is about 15 miles from Leicester.
Its infection rate for the week to 1 August is 31.3 per 100,000 people, just below Trafford and Manchester in the table.
'Flush the cases out'
However Mike Sandys, Leicestershire's director of public health, said while Melton was "a concern" he did not believe a local lockdown would be required.
"In absolute terms the numbers are relatively low - about 15 or 16 cases a week over each of the past two weeks," he said.
"Nonetheless it's a higher rate than almost the whole of the rest of the country and is in line with places in the North West that have gone into lockdown.
"So it's appropriate we take action to get people tested and flush the cases out of the system to get those numbers down in due course."
Melton has seen a rise in cases in the past two weeks
Mr Sandys said the virus has spread within households and so it was "important we take action now to stop it spreading into wider community transmission".
He said it is hoped increased testing will prevent further spread of the infection through the borough.
Food firm Samworth Brothers, a major employer in Melton Mowbray, confirmed it had a "very small" number of cases but said they were "related to community transmission rather than the workplace".
Leicester has been subject to an extended lockdown since 29 June but some restrictions have been eased over the past week.
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- Published3 August 2020
