COVID-19 patient numbers continue to rise in Wirral, despite a fall in cases in the borough.

On January 19, 272 virus patients were in Wirral's hospitals, 20 more than in the previous week's figures.

The numbers show the huge impact the third wave has had on healthcare in the borough.

At the peak of the first wave last April, 131 people were in the borough's hospitals with Covid-19, less than half the current figure.

There are some signs that hospital admissions may be close to a peak, from which we might expect to see them fall in the coming weeks.

On December 25, 62 patients in Wirral were being treated for the virus, a figure that had remained largely stable throughout the month.

From then on patient numbers have rocketed.

By December 29, the figure had risen to 78, before surging to 137 a week later on January 5, and to 252 on January 12, following a huge spike in case numbers over the Christmas period and early January.

But the most recent figures, between January 12 and January 19, show that Wirral's COVID-19 hospital admissions actually fell on three out of seven days, peaking at 277 on January 18.

Across the week as a whole there was a rise, but it was far less steep than increases seen in the last few weeks.

While the recent surge in hospital cases has put Wirral's NHS under immense pressure and will continue to do so, there are some tentative signs of better days ahead.

These signs are backed up by the recent fall in COVID-19 cases in the borough.

The most recent numbers, which cover the week up to January 18, show that 2,152 cases were recorded in Wirral at a rate of 664 cases per 100,000 residents.

That is down on the rate of 901 cases per 100,000 residents, with 2,918 cases registered, seven days earlier.

However, this decline should not be overestimated. The borough has a long way to go before the virus is under control.

On December 3, just after the second lockdown ended, Wirral's infection rate was 52 per 100,000. This went up to 214 by Christmas Day and surged to a peak of 982 on January 8.

Numbers much more similar to those recorded at the start of last month need to be seen again if the borough is to make progress in tackling this deadly virus.