Coronavirus cases have fallen in Sefton this week – for the first time since the beginning of August.
Latest figures show that the infection rate in the borough is 440 per 100,000 people is – and in just one week (11 to 17 October) there were 1216 positive cases.
This is down from the previous week, where the infection rate was 480 per 100,000, and there were 1327 positive cases.
But while the infection rate has dipped, it is not clear that whether this represents a genuine fall in infection.
Fewer people appear to be being tested, and the percentage of swabs testing positive has continued to increase across the North West, suggesting many cases may have been missed by the official figures.
Knowsley still has Merseyside’s highest rate – 668.2 per 100,000.
Liverpool’s rate is now 600.5, while Wirral has the Liverpool City Region’s lowest infection rate at 273.1 per 100,000 for the same period.
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While Sefton’s infection rate has dropped overall, a number of neighbourhoods in the borough have seen a surge in positive cases.
Kew in Southport has seen an increase of 63%, with cases going up from ten to 16.
The neighbourhood known as Bootle North has experienced a 47% increase, with its infection rate jumping from 456 to 669 per 100,000 people.
Sefton’s worst impacted neighbourhood is now Hightown and Thornton, which includes Little Crosby and Lunt.
Its infection rate is currently a staggering 697 per 100,000 – up from 508 in the previous week.
Waterloo, which last week had an infection rate of 906.6 cases per 100,000 people has now seen a decrease of 36% (582 cases per 100,000).
The least impacted Sefton neighbourhood is Crossens in Southport, with six new cases this week, and an infection rate of 89.4.
Two more walk-through testing centres have opened in the borough this week, bringing the total to four.
People with coronavirus symptoms will be able to book an appointment online or by calling 119, and the site is intended to be easily accessible without a car.
The site are located at Bootle and Southport town halls, Netherton Activity Centre car park in Glovers Lane, and at Crosby Library.
Each testing site will be open daily from 8am-8pm, with between four and eight testing bays which can each test up to three people an hour.
There are also mobile testing units across the borough, which are operational on most days. You can find out when and where these are open here
