Government statistics showing the weekly increase in the rate of Covid-19 infections suggest north-west London boroughs are currently not at risk of experiencing a local lockdown.

Figures showed that, as of yesterday (July 2), the weekly rate of infection in Harrow per 100,000 residents was 2.8.

This was a slight increase from the previous week’s figure of 1.6 but is far lower than many other local authorities in England.

In neighbouring Brent, this week’s figure stood at 5.4 per 100,000 residents, which represented an increase of 0.3 from June 25.

At the other end of the scale, Leicester, the first city to go into local lockdown earlier this week, has an infection rate of 141.3.

Both Harrow and Brent Councils issued statements in response to reports that they could be among those forced to implement stricter lockdown measures to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Carole Furlong, director of public health at Harrow Council, said: “There is nothing to suggest there is a spike in Harrow.

“We’ve had fewer than ten cases a week in June and, as lockdown eases, we ask everyone to do their bit to help stop the spread by staying two metres apart, wearing face coverings in confined spaces and washing their hands regularly for at least 20 seconds.”

She added that the council is in “regular contact” with the NHS and Public Health England and that it continues to “closely monitor” the local and national situation.

As part of the local lockdown in Leicester, non-essential shops that reopened on June 15 have closed again and the planned further easing of restrictions that were set to take place tomorrow (July 4) have been cancelled.

And the majority of children are now unable to attend school as the city tries to combat a recent spike in coronavirus cases.

Despite the current low infection rates in north-west London, updated Government statistics showed the total number of cases in the region have increased.

The new figures, which take into account all Covid-19 swab tests carried out, covering those in labs (pillar 1) and wider testing sites (pillar 2), showed a 20 per cent increase in the total cases in Harrow.

As of yesterday, 1,269 people in the borough have tested positive for the virus, whereas previously this figure stood at 1,054.

A similar situation occurred in Brent, where a further 223 cases were confirmed, representing a 15 per cent increase from 1,510 to 1,733.