Wirral’s number of new Covid-19 cases has halved in the last week, according to figures released yesterday.
Published by Public Health England, the numbers are based on tests that have been carried out both in laboratories (pillar one of the government's testing programme) and in the wider community (pillar two).
The rate is expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 population.
This week’s numbers come from tests taken in the week up to July 6 as data for the last three days is incomplete.
They show that Wirral's rate of new cases is just 4.3 per 100,000.
That is less than half of the 8.7 cases per 100,000 people shown in last week’s figures up to June 29.
Wirral has been hit hard by the pandemic. There have been 238 coronavirus deaths registered at the borough’s hospitals.
But news of Wirral’s decreasing infection rate is a much-needed source of encouragement.
There are now more than 100 local authority areas with a higher infection rate than Wirral.
They include Knowsley at 11.4, Liverpool at 8.5 and Sefton at 5.4.
Wirral is by no means one of the least infected areas in the country, as it still has a higher rate of new cases than over 200 local authority areas.
Nationally, Leicester has by far the highest rate of 125.3, followed by Bradford at 35.7 and Rochdale at 34.5.
