Cases of Covid-19 in Halton are at their highest level for almost a month after a rapid rise in infections last week.
The borough now has the highest infection rate in the Liverpool City Region as cases approach the levels that have seen other areas placed into Tier 3 restrictions.
In the week up to December 17, Halton recorded 214 new cases of Covid-19 - an increase of almost 30% on the previous week.
This increase was the largest in the borough since early October and pushed Halton’s infection rate to 165 cases per 100,000 residents.
Some of this increase is down to the introduction of mass testing last Monday, which uncovered 29 asymptomatic cases in its first four days. However, even without those extra cases Halton still has the region’s highest infection rate.
Official data also suggests that, while the majority of cases are among the young and middle-aged, infections among the over-60s are rising more rapidly.
Infections also appear to be highest in Runcorn New Town with places like Brookvale, Grange and Halton Lea exhibiting high case rates.
Many of the new infections are likely to be due to the looser restrictions that came in when the second national lockdown ended on December 2 and Halton was placed into Tier 2.
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Since then, cases in the borough have risen by a third while the number of Covid-19 patients at Warrington and Halton Hospitals are still around the same level they were during the peak of the first wave.
If the rise in cases is reflected in a later rise in hospitalisations, as has been the case throughout the pandemic, the hospitals will be strained even further as doctors also deal with the usual winter pressures.
Halton’s director of public health, Eileen O'Meara, said: “Like other places across the country, as we have come out of the national lockdown, we have seen infection levels rise – in Halton this increase is no greater than other areas regionally and is not on the scale seen in areas like London and the South East.
"However, the increase is a reminder to us all to that we cannot relax, especially given the hard work done previously by everyone across Halton to reduce infection rates and to bring us out of the national lockdown into Tier 2.
"Having these greater freedoms means we must now work even harder to maintain this position. If we do not, we risk putting more lives at risk at the hands of the virus and being placed back into a higher tier of restrictions, with the impact this has on our lives and our livelihoods. We must not let this happen.
"So, I urge everyone in Halton to stick to the basics - washing hands, keeping a distance and wearing a face covering – which are vitally important, especially as we are busy making preparations for Christmas.
"I also ask that everyone who lives or works in the borough, or who has travelled to the borough from London or the South East, to get a regular, rapid no-symptoms smart test. We worked really hard to secure this testing as we know how important a tool it is to keeping infection levels down.
"Please, keep looking after each other and keep getting tested.”
Almost the whole city region saw cases increase last week, with health officials in Liverpool fearing that arrivals from parts of the country in higher tiers were pushing infection rates up.
