HERE is the latest update on the spread of coronavirus in Halton.

Public Health England figures for the seven day period leading to November 18 show that 553 positive cases were returned in the borough.

This equates to a rate of 426.2 per 100,000 people - meaning Halton has the 214th highest case rate in the UK.

By comparison, the previous seven day period up to November 11 saw 545 cases recorded at a rate of 420.0.

Halton is among the 298 (79 per cent) of local authority areas in the UK that have seen a week-on-week rise in rates while 76 areas (20 per cent) have seen a fall and three are unchanged.

The five UK areas with the biggest week-on-week rises are:

Torridge (up from 714.5 to 1,017.2)

Mid Ulster (572.0 to 871.4)

Gwynedd (604.0 to 878.0)

East Hampshire (363.4 to 614.5)

Richmondshire (329.4 to 567.6)