There are just two COVID-19 patients in Wirral's hospitals, as our borough continues to get the pandemic under control.

In the latest figures for the borough, which cover April 20, there were two virus patients in hospital beds and none on ventilation.

It is a much improved situation from the depths of late January.

On January 22, 279 people were being treated for the virus in Wirral's hospitals.

This huge progress is down to the success in reducing the infection rate in the community.

At Wirral's peak, the week up to January 8, the infection rate was 988 per 100,000.

In the most recent figures, which cover the week up to April 19, the rate was just 11 per 100,000.

The rate of decline has slowed lately. For instance, in a week-by-week comparison, the borough's rate fell from 12 per 100,000 to 11 per 100,000.

But this shows that case numbers are still going down in Wirral, even as COVID-19 restrictions are being relaxed.

We will however need to see more data over the next few weeks to reliably determine if the reopening of non-essential retail and hospitality, albeit for outdoor service only, has led to a rise in infections.

A breakdown of Wirral's COVID cases to council ward level helps to show the progress made in the fight against the virus.

Almost a third of Wirral wards had no COVID-19 cases in the figures, which cover the week up to April 16.

The numbers show that Eastham, West Kirby and Thurstaston, Moreton West and Saughall Massie, Upton, Claughton, Oxton, and Wallasey, all registered zero cases.

These areas account for seven of Wirral's 22 council wards.

Of the remaining 15, just three recorded five or more infections.

These were Bidston and St James, Rock Ferry, and Pensby and Thingwall.

In the rest of the borough, each ward recorded between one and four cases.

There was more good news in the ward-by-ward figures, which came in the form of the positivity rate.

This is the percentage of tests which return a positive result.

In the weekly figures, Wirral's rate was 0.4%, the lowest recorded in the borough since the ward-by-ward figures began to be published last August.