Yesterday (Monday 22 February), Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out the government's 'road map' out of lockdown.

In his announcement, Mr Johnson said that restrictions will be lifted uniformly across all regions of England, with a return of the tiered system having been ruled out.

With this in mind, how does the situation in Frodsham, and in Cheshire West as a whole, currently compare with the national picture?

Case Numbers

According to data for the week ending February 17, Frodsham's rolling coronavirus rate of 109 per 100,000 people is now below the UK average of 121 per 100,000.

There were ten new cases recorded in the town during those seven days, marking a decrease of 44 per cent on the week before.

Meanwhile, in the area covering Helsby, Kingsley, Manley and Alvanley, that period saw a slight uptick in cases, bringing the rate to 140 per 100,000 and above the national average.

At 129 per 100,000, the overall infection rate for Cheshire West continues to exceed that of the country in general.

The borough also lags slightly behind its neighbours in Wirral, Flintshire, Wrexham and Cheshire East, whose rolling rates are all currently below 120 per 100,000.

To the north, however, rates in Halton, Warrington and Liverpool are hovering between 150 and 170 per 100,000.

Vaccines

While Cheshire West's coronavirus case numbers may not be falling as fast as in other parts of the region and country, the borough's vaccination programme has been working "incredibly efficiently and effectively", according to Clare Watson, Accountable Officer for Cheshire CCG.

The latest NHS England data shows that by Thursday 18 February, nearly 200,000 people in the county had received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, 6,000 had also received their second dose.

Of these people, 117,387 residents aged 70-plus have had their first dose of a vaccine, out of a over-70 population of 119,773.

That equates to a 98 per cent success rate.

Such is the progress locally that Cheshire East Leader, Cllr Sam Corcoran, revealed last week that "many primary care networks have [now] moved on to vaccinating those over 60."

He also said that vaccine supply in Cheshire will be 'throttled back' in order 'to allow other areas' of the country 'to catch up'.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added: "Vaccines are being distributed fairly across the UK to ensure the most vulnerable are immunised first and all GPs will continue to receive deliveries as planned.

"Parts of the country have made very significant progress and have vaccinated faster than average. We're putting more supply into areas that have more to do, with the NHS doing brilliantly to deliver the amount of supply we have."

Source: Public Health England and NHS England