Three more Covid-19 vaccination sites have opened in Sefton this week, as the borough continues to battle a spike in positive cases.
Rates rose quickly in the borough earlier this month, and the council confirmed the presence of a new Indian variant of the disease in the area.
Public health teams deployed surge testing in the area in a bid to clamp down on and contain the spread of the highly transmissible variant.
Anyone living or working in the borough is advised to take two lateral flow tests each week.
In a statement on Thursday (May 13) , council leader Cllr Ian Maher warned people ahead of bars and restaurants reopening.
Cllr Maher said: “Any of us who is regularly out and coming into regular contact with others needs to be taking a rapid test as often as twice a week.
"Now that lockdown restrictions are being relaxed and more people are going out to their workplaces, going for a drink or meal at a pub or restaurant or meeting up with friends and family outside, taking regular rapid tests is increasingly important to keeping down the spread of Covid-19."
Infection rates in the Sefton area are now falling, with the number of cases down 26.3% in the week ending May 13.
It is worth noting, though, Sefton still has the highest infection rate of the six boroughs which make up the Liverpool City Region.
Additional vaccination centres have now been set up at Linacre Methodist Mission on Linacre Road, Litherland; St Faith’s Church, Crosby Road North; and Superdrug on Eastbank Street in Southport.
Figures on Friday (May 14) showed a total of 6,047,562 first and second doses of the vaccine since the NHS vaccination programme launched on December 8, 2020.
People who have received a letter or text inviting them to book their vaccine can log on to the national booking service and choose from a range of vaccination services across the North West.
Other vaccination centres set up this week include one at the Superdrug store on Derby Road in Huyton.
There are also new sites in Nantwich, Chester and Bramhall.
