Last night, as coronavirus cases soared across our region, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown in England.

In the week leading up to December 30, there were 19 new cases recorded in Frodsham, which was an increase of seven on the previous week and which resulted in a rolling rate of 207 per 100,000 people.

Meanwhile, in Helsby and Kingsley, the number of new cases doubled to 44, putting the infection rate at 474 per 100,000 people.

The Helsby and Kingsley coronavirus rate current sits above that of Cheshire West as a whole, which was 435 per 100,000 as of December 30.

In that week, 1491 new cases had been recorded: marking an increase of 67 per cent on the week before.

In general, the incidence of coronavirus in our borough is just below the UK average of 487 cases per 100,000 people.

Cheshire West and Chester Council have said that the borough's hospitals are under pressure, with 40 per cent of the Countess of Chester's acute and general beds now occupied by Covid patients.

Speaking of last night's lockdown announcement, the Leader of Cheshire West and Chester, Louise Gittins, said: "These restrictions, while incredibly tough for all of us, are necessary to save lives.

"We have seen a worrying acceleration of the rates of infection and this is now translating into more people getting ill and being admitted to hospital.

"We face a more infectious variant of the virus. The most effective way to combat this strain is to stay at home as much as possible. If we don't follow these rules, we will see a further escalation with tragic consequences.

"The rate of infection has increased rapidly in recent days and like many other areas of the country, our hospitals are coming under ever more pressure.

"While the vaccine rollout gives us all hope, it would be incredibly sad if we didn't all act now and follow the latest rules. Otherwise, we may lose the chance to save the lives of many people who could be vaccinated in just a few months.

"The Council and our partners across the public, private and voluntary sector will do all we can to support residents and businesses through these tough times and work is underway to speed up the rollout of the vaccine.

"But we also need to slow down the pandemic through these restrictions. The power to turn this around is in our hands.

"The message is now as it was last March. Stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives."

Cheshire West's Covid-19 Outbreak Board will be meeting this evening (Tuesday) at 5:45pm to discuss the current situation. You will be able to watch the meeting here.

Source: Public Health England