Cheshire West and Chester Council leader Louise Gittins has said she expects the borough to be placed in tier 2 coronavirus restrictions once lockdown ends.

Cllr Gittins added that during a ministerial briefing last night, government officials 'said they had not decided yet what triggers each tier'.

Speaking to the LDRS, Cllr Gittins commented: "I don't know what the criteria are — I think it will be tier 2.

"I don't think we will be in tier 3, there are a lot worse areas but [the government] may also take a regional approach."

Furthermore, the Labour leader believed that the new tier 2 restrictions, as outlined by the Prime Minister on Monday, would be sufficient in maintaining the fall in the borough's 7-day infection rate.

The latest data from Public Health England, from November 18, outlines that CWAC's rolling infection rate is 242.8 cases per 100,000 residents — down from 325 just one week before.

The Neston ward representative said: "It is really the old tier 3. If you look at the drop in infection rates in the Liverpool City region, it is [decreasing] everywhere and they were in the old tier 3 before, so [new] tier 2 would help in bringing it down.

"Household mixing is the biggest issue."

Cllr Gittins' comments come in the same week in which the council launched its own contact tracing system.

It replaces an older 'informal' arrangement to find close contacts the NHS Track and Trace failed to do so within 24 hours.