THE rate of coronavirus infection in Cheshire East could be lower than elsewhere in the north west, the council’s leader has suggested.
Latest figures from Public Health England and Cambridge University, published last Friday, suggest the region has an 'R' number of 1.01 – meaning the rate of infection is slowly increasing.
The aim is to keep the 'R' number below one to keep the number of new coronavirus cases falling.
However, Cheshire East recorded just two new confirmed cases of coronavirus between 9am on Saturday and 9am on Sunday, according to the latest figures.
In his latest video on Twitter this morning, June 8, CEC leader Cllr Sam Corcoran said: “The report that the 'R' number for the north west is 1.01 suggests that it is going up very slowly in the north west.
“But the number of new cases in Cheshire East – just two today – and low numbers for several days before that suggests an 'R' number below one in Cheshire East.
“We also need to know how many people currently have the virus, and for that information I rely on the King’s College research app.
“That data suggests that 0.4 per cent of the population of Cheshire East have Covid-19 symptoms – that’s only one in 250 people – and it has been falling slowly in recent weeks.”
More than 3.8 million people across the country are using King’s College Covid-19 tracking app, including 7,911 in Cheshire East.
According to Public Health England, cases of coronavirus increased by less than 0.5 per cent in Cheshire East over the weekend, compared to a UK average of one per cent.
Following last Friday’s report, Dr Andrew Furber, north west regional director at Public Health England, said: “We know here in the north west, we experienced a peak in cases later than the majority of other areas.
“We need to ensure all our communities continue to follow government guidance on social distancing and self-isolation.
“As lockdown measures are eased across the country, it is vitally important we do everything we can to slow the spread of the virus and save lives.”
There have now been 1,259 confirmed cases of coronavirus in total across Cheshire East as of 9am on Sunday, June 7.
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