For the second week running, fewer than three new coronavirus cases have been recorded in Frodsham, Helsby and the surrounding villages.

In the seven days leading up to 21 April, the local infection rate was 'suppressed', that is, too low to quantify.

This situation was mirrored across the whole of west Cheshire, including Chester, Ellesmere Port and Winsford. A small pocket of increased prevalence was reported in Northwich, but this only amounted to 10 new cases.

In the last seven days, there have been 39 positive cases recorded in the borough as a whole, making for a rolling rate of 14 per 100,000 people.

Cheshire West's rate still sits below the national average of 25 per 100,000 of the population.

As of April 22, 535,947 vaccinations have been administered in the Cheshire NHS CCG area, with nearly 50,000 people receiving their first or second dose in that week.

At a Cheshire West and Chester Council Covid-19 Outbreak Board meeting on Wednesday 21 April, CCG Accountable Officer, Clare Watson, reported that Primary Care Network centres will receive weekly deliveries of vaccine supplies.

"We've had a problem with this 'push and pull' system," she said, "so at least now our Primary Care Networks will know when they are going to get the vaccine."

Now that vaccination teams have moved onto Phase Two of the programme, concentrating on cohorts 10-12, Cheshire CCG is working to vaccinate 74,000 west Cheshire 18-49-year-olds by the end of July. That figure is based on an uptake of 75 per cent of the population that falls into those age groups.

"We are confident that we will meet that target," Ms Watson added.

Source: Public Health England, NHS England and Cheshire NHS CCG