Halton now has the highest Covid-19 infection rate in the Liverpool City Region but cases continue to fall.

In the week up to November 24, the borough recorded 189 new cases of Covid-19, giving an infection rate of 146.1 new cases per 100,000 residents.

Although this is 38% lower than the previous week’s infection rate, it is now higher than the rate in any other borough in the city region as other boroughs have seen even faster falls in their infection rates.

The week also saw the number of patients with Covid-19 at Warrington and Halton Hospitals fall by only one, from 148 on November 20 to 147 on November 27. However, most of these patients are believed to be from Warrington where cases are much higher.

Along with the rest of the Liverpool City Region, Halton was placed in Tier 2 when the government announced its revised tier system on Thursday.

The Tier 2 restrictions, which will come into force when the national lockdown ends on December 2, will allow hospitality businesses to reopen provided they serve a “substantial meal” with any drinks.

Households will not be allowed to mix indoors, but can mix outdoors in groups of up to six.

Following the announcement, council leader Rob Polhill said: “Everyone across Halton is playing their part to get our infection rates down and that effort is clearly having an impact as we have come out of lockdown in a better position and in the Tier 2 alert level.

“By following the rules, we have seen a significant decrease in our infection rates across Halton and the Liverpool City Region and the mass testing programme in Liverpool is helping us to better understand the virus and, importantly, identify people who don’t have symptoms but have tested positive so that they can self-isolate and prevent the further spread of the virus.

“Whilst our figures are reducing, they are still too high but we have demonstrated that by following the rules, we can improve our infection rates here across the Liverpool City Region. This is a great achievement and one that we will continue to build on over the coming weeks and months.

“Stop. Think. Do the right thing by continuing to follow the rules so that we can start to do and enjoy the things we once did and get back to some sort of normality sooner.”