The number of coronavirus infections in Wirral has remained stable, despite a major rise in one area.
In the seven days up to October 26, Wirral recorded 886 infections at a rate of 273 per 100,000.
That is slightly down on the rate of 290 for the previous week, although this small fall is down to a dip from 292 to 273 in the final day of this week’s figures, something which could be revised in the coming days.
But a finer breakdown of the numbers, which looks at how many infections there were in each of Wirral’s 22 council wards, showed Bidston and St James has seen a major spike in case numbers.
This breakdown is a few days behind the national reporting of daily cases and covers the seven days to October 23.
Bidston and St James recorded 104 infections in the week up to October 23, despite registering just 43 in the previous week.
This makes the area the worst affected ward in the borough currently, above Upton on 64 cases and Birkenhead and Tranmere on 58.
While the numbers in Wirral as a whole appear fairly stable, the region’s two main hotspots Liverpool and Knowsley have recorded a marked decline in case numbers.
Liverpool’s infection rate fell from 576 to 435 between October 19 and October 26, while Knowsley’s rate decreased from 663 to 514.
This welcome decline saw the infection rate of the Liverpool City Region as a whole, which includes Liverpool, Knowsley, Wirral, Sefton, St Helens and Halton, fall from 469 to 387.
Tier 3 rules have been in place across the Liverpool City Region since October 14 and residents are being warned that the upcoming Halloween and Bonfire Night festivities are no excuse to break the rules.
Chief Inspector Peter Clark, who is heading the Halloween operation for Merseyside Police, said people will face action for breaching the restrictions during the celebrations.
He said: “We are keen to get the balance right between protecting people from the spread of the coronavirus and ensuring that they can still enjoy this period.
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“Where people are flouting restrictions, we will however take action.
"Our message regarding anti-social behaviour during this period remains simple – it will not be tolerated and anyone caught committing this type of offence will be dealt with firmly and robustly.
“No one should have to suffer being the victim of anti-social behaviour and I would like to reassure everyone that there will be extra high-visibility patrols during this time.”
