The Liverpool City Region has recorded its first week without a Covid-related death since August.
Figures published on Thursday (April 22) confirm that in the seven days up to April 19 there were no deaths from Covid-19 anywhere in the city region.
The last time the city region went seven days without a Covid death was the week ending August 24, just before the start of the second wave last autumn.
The news is further evidence that the virus is in retreat across the region thanks to previous restrictions and the rollout of the vaccine, which has now reached more than 50% of the population.
However, incomplete figures show that there was sadly another Covid death after this period, with one death being recorded in St Helens on April 20.
These figures include all deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test. On this measure, there have been 3,902 deaths from Covid-19 in the city region since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, infection rates continue to fall across the city region with only 239 new cases being detected in the same week compared to 277 in the previous week.
Public health officials will hope cases of Covid-19 continue to fall in the coming weeks despite the easing of lockdown restrictions.
However, even if cases do rise the fact that almost all of the most vulnerable people in the city region have received a vaccine should prevent the sort of spikes in Covid deaths seen in previous waves.
The latest figures show almost 800,000 people in the city region have been vaccinated, equivalent to 51% of the total population and 62% of adults.
This includes 96% of the over-65s, who are much more vulnerable to the virus.
