Coronavirus cases are still rising in Halton, but the borough has so far avoided being placed on the government’s watch list.

Infection rates in the borough remain lower than in neighbouring Merseyside, which was described as an “area of concern” on Friday.

But Halton has still seen a significant increase in confirmed coronavirus cases over the past week.

In the seven days up to September 8, there were 55 new cases in the borough, up from just 14 the week before.

Halton now has an infection rate of 42.5 cases per 100,000 residents. While this is short of Merseyside’s infection rate of around 61.5 cases per 100,000 residents, Halton could find itself on the government’s watch list if infections continue to rise at the same speed.

Liverpool, for instance, had an infection rate of 41 cases per 100,000 residents as recently as last weekend.

To assist the fight against the virus, this week saw two new walk-through testing facilities set up in the borough.

One is located on the disused magistrates’ court and police station site in Kingsway, Widnes, while the other is in the upper car park by Runcorn’s Brindley Theatre.

But testing remains a major concern, with Halton residents still being directed to testing centres in Oldham and Deeside despite the new locations opening this week.

Local MP Derek Twigg wrote to health secretary Matt Hancock on Friday to demand more local testing, describing the situation as “shambolic”.

In his letter, Mr Twigg said: “My constituents should not be inconvenienced in this way – we have many poor income families in Halton, some with no private transport “Halton has a low incidence of Covid-19 and I fear that being told to travel to Oldham may deter some people from going for a test, which could lead to an increase in infection rates locally.”

This week also saw councillors raise concerns about “inconsistencies” in how pubs and restaurants were enforcing social distancing and test and trace rules.

One councillor even said he had seen someone leave the name of one of the Beatles on a test and trace register.

Cllr Chris Loftus told a Halton Council committee meeting on Tuesday: “I don’t think it’s being taken as seriously as it needs to be.”