The number of people having to go to hospital with coronavirus in Wirral is on the rise, after a lull during the summer.
Between July 11 and September 8, Wirral never had more than nine coronavirus patients in hospital, but recently the figure has shot up.
Currently, 60 people in the borough are in hospital with the virus.
Just three weeks ago, only 14 people were hospitalised with Covid-19 in the borough, while two weeks ago the number was just 23.
Wirral’s hospitalisation numbers are now back around the levels seen in early June, well before pubs and restaurants were reopened on July 4.
However, they are still far below the peak of 131 on April 11.
The rise in hospitalisations follows the increased number of infections in Wirral over the last two months.
At the end of July, there were just 15 cases of coronavirus in the borough at a rate of five per 100,000.
By the end of August, the rate had risen to 32 per 100,000, before climbing above 100 per 100,000 on September 12.
In the most recent figures, Wirral’s infection rate is 161 per 100,000, with 522 recorded cases of the virus.
Other parts of the region have also recorded rocketing case numbers. To tackle the rise, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has put in place further restrictions for Merseyside.
The additional measures are the same as those recently announced for the North East and essentially mean that there will now be an outright ban on different households mixing with each other in any indoor setting.
These new restrictions will also apply to Halton and Warrington.
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This includes pubs, bars and restaurants, as well as private homes, which were already banned in the previous measures.
Speaking in the House of Commons this morning, Mr Hancock said: "In some parts of the country the virus is spreading fast.
"In Liverpool the number of cases are 268 per 1,000 - so we need to act.
"Today I am extending these measures that have been in place in the North East since the start of this week to the Liverpool City Region, Warrington, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.”
