Confirmed cases of coronavirus have risen sharply in Liverpool this week - with the city now overtaking Manchester for the number of those infected with the virus.
One week ago, Public Health England recorded that there were just 14 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Liverpool.
But this week has seen regular jumps in cases each day and as of yesterday (the latest figures) the city's total stands at 72.
In reality this number will be much higher as testing is currently mainly only taking place in hospitals.
Prior to this week, Liverpool's official case figures were low and had only been rising by a handful each day.
The city has now overtaken Manchester (55 confirmed cases) in terms of cases.
This week Mayor Joe Anderson said the rise in new cases in the city was 'frightening' and reported that a healthy man of under 25 was among those recently diagnosed.
It is not clear whether Liverpool's cases are rising for any particular reason or whether it is simply in line with the general spread of the virus around the country.
The city's figures are still way behind other cities where there have been acute outbreaks like Birmingham - where there are now 290 confirmed cases.
But former Public Health director Professor John Ashton said he believes the Champions League football match at Anfield held two weeks ago could be a contributory factor to a recent rise.
The game saw 3,000 Madrid fans travel from the Spanish capital - where there was an acute outbreak and large death count already - into Liverpool.
Professor Ashton said: "It was disgraceful and we are potentially seeing the consequences of that in Liverpool now.
"We can expect another wave of infections after this one because of who those supporters went on to be around."
The ECHO has been contacted by a number of Liverpool fans who attended that match and say they now have symptoms of COVID-19.
Across Merseyside, confirmed cases are continuing to rise as well:
- In Wirral there are now 22 confirmed cases of coronavirus
- Sefton has a total of 24 cases
- There are 17 confirmed diagnoses in St Helens
- Knowsley now has 12 recorded COVID-19 cases
Deaths
Despite the rising case numbers, Liverpool has just one recorded COVID-19 death so far.
Legendary Scouse singer Cy Tucker lost his life at the Royal Liverpool Hospital on Tuesday.
The family of the musician, who used to rub shoulders with the likes of Cilla Black and The Beatles , said he "had a smile that could light up the darkest of rooms and his witty personality would charm all he came across.”
Yesterday the second death of a patient in Wirral was confirmed.
These are the only three recorded COVID-19 deaths in Merseyside at present.
