There has been a noticeable rise in Wirral's COVID-19 weekly infection rate, according to the latest statistics.

However, the peninsula lags some distance behind the country's coronavirus hotspots in London and the South East.

In the seven days up to December 17, Wirral Borough's new case rate was 119.7 per 100,000 people with 388 positive test results.

A week earlier the rate was almost half that, at 66.0 per 100,000, with 214 new cases confirmed.

It's a common story.

Of the 315 local areas in England, 284 (90%) have seen the number of cases rise. Just 30 (10%) have seen a fall, and one is unchanged.

Of those that have witnessed a rise, Thurrock in Essex has the highest rate in England. In those seven days to December 17, 2,055 new cases were recorded – that's a staggering 1178.7 cases per 100,000 people.

Such a rise might be due to the new COVID-19 variant, believed to be 70% more transmissible than the original, and the seasonal effect of winter.

Whatever, it's inevitable that we are in for a toughening up of restrictions, but it remains to be seen if we, as part of Liverpool City Region, will retain Tier 2 status and the relative freedoms it delivers.

The Covid operations committee, chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, meets this morning to discuss the tier system, and whether or not it remains appropriate in the context of the new virus strain.

Don't forget, if you believe you have COVID-19 symptoms you can arrange to be tested at Heswall Library.