WIRRAL residents have now been living under the third national coronavirus lockdown for almost four weeks.
As we say goodbye to January and hello to February, here is everything you need to know about the current Covid situation in Wirral.
How common is Covid-19 across the Wirral now?
The number of positive Covid tests across Wirral has fallen dramatically in the past couple of weeks, having surged in the first few weeks after Christmas.
The borough’s seven-day infection rate is now at its lowest level since December 28, at 382.1 per 100,000 people – compared to 616.6 per 100,000 people one week earlier.
Meanwhile, 247 new Covid cases have been confirmed in Wirral borough over the weekend, with 153 announced on Saturday and 94 today.
That takes the total number of Covid cases seen across the borough to 21,907 since the pandemic began.
What is the situation in Wirral hospitals?
In the latest figures available, there were 265 Covid patients in Wirral NHS hospitals on January 26, down from a peak of 279 on January 22.
Fourteen of those patients were on mechanical ventilation.
Sadly, Wirral NHS hospitals have reported four more deaths from coronavirus over the weekend.
It means the total number of Wirral University Teaching Hospitals’ Covid-19 patients who have died since the beginning of the pandemic now stands at 516.
Three deaths took place on Friday, January 29, while one took place on Thursday, January 28.
Nationally, 681 Covid deaths were reported on Saturday and 563 were reported today, January 31.
Only deaths that occur in hospitals where the patient has tested positive for Covid-19 are recorded by NHS England, with deaths in the community excluded, such as those in care homes.
The patients’ families have been informed.
What about the vaccine?
As of January 24, the most recent data available from NHS England, 292,278 people across Cheshire and Merseyside had their first Covid vaccine jab.
Image: PA
A further 27,828 people had already had their second jab by that date.
Eighty-one per cent of residents aged 80 or above in Cheshire and Merseyside had their first jab by January 24, while 13.4 per cent had their second jab.
When might the lockdown be lifted?
Earlier today, Public Health England’s Dr Susan Hopkins warned that relaxing lockdown measures would have to be done ‘very slowly, very cautiously’ to avoid a surge in infections.
“We have learnt, as we did on the first occasion, we have to relax things really quite slowly, so that if cases start to increase we can clamp down quite fast,” she told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show.
Dr Susan Hopkins. Image: PA
“The NHS is going to be under pressure until the end of March, as normal in winter, but even more so with the amount of inpatients they still have with Covid-19.
“Any releases that we have will have to happen very slowly, very cautiously, watching and waiting as we go, with a two-week period to watch and see the impact of that relaxation because it takes that to see what’s happening in the population.”
She added that experts expect to see an impact of the coronavirus vaccine on the over-80s over the next two weeks.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week that a 'roadmap' out of lockdown would be revealed by Government in the week beginning February 22.
However, schools will remain closed until at least March 8.
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