Bebington recorded more COVID infections than any other Wirral area this week, but cases fell across much of the borough.

In the week up to March 12, Bebington registered 13 cases, up from six last week.

Other wards near the top of the borough's cases list included Bromborough, and Bidston and St James, which both recorded 11 infections.

Four wards, Pensby and Thingwall, Liscard, Claughton, and Birkenhead and Tranmere, had 10 COVID infections in the same period.

These numbers are much lower than those recorded in early January, when some Wirral wards recorded almost 200 cases in the space of a week.

However, the ward-by-ward breakdown gives a slightly different pattern to last week, with the areas previously mentioned, apart from Birkenhead and Tranmere, all registering more cases than last week.

Clatterbridge also saw an increase in its infection numbers.

But overall COVID cases fell in most Wirral wards, with seven seeing cases rise, two showing no change and 13 seeing cases fall.

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The positivity rate, that is the percentage of tests which came back as positive, was also down from 2.1% last week to 1.8% this time around.

That is the lowest rate recorded since August 21.

The very latest numbers for the borough as a whole, which cover the week up to March 14, show that 123 cases were registered in Wirral at a rate of 38 per 100,000.

That is down on the rate of 48 per 100,000, with 155 cases recorded, in the previous week's numbers.

Hospital figures are also in a much better place now, with consistent declines in COVID patient numbers registered week after week.

It does, however, remain to be seen what impact the return of schools and further steps in relaxing the rules will have on infection rates and hospitalisations.