The sun is shining, the birds are singing, spring is definitely here and it appears to have brought some good news with it!

In the seven days leading up to March 25, there were fewer than three coronavirus cases recorded in Frodsham, bringing the town's rolling rate lower than it has been since last summer.

Although case numbers are likely to rise with Monday's relaxation of lockdown restrictions, it is gratifying to see that the return to school on March 8 has not yet resulted in a marked increase in infections.

The Covid-19 situation proved similar in Helsby, Kingsley and the surrounding villages, where five new cases made for a rolling rate of 54 per 100,000 people, down 55 per cent on the week before.

This sits below the average rate for west Cheshire, which, with 222 infections recorded last week, is currently 65 per 100,000 of the population.

Meanwhile, the national rate has been calculated to be 56 per 100,000 people.

By 25 March, the number of vaccine doses administered to Cheshire residents had reached 355,153, an increase of over 40,000 compared to the previous week.

Of that total, 55 per cent of 50-54-year-olds had received their first jab. As they have worked their way through the priority group cohorts, vaccination teams have also inoculated 67,000 Cheshire under-50s.

Sources: Public Health England and NHS England