CHESHIRE West council leader Louise Gittins has said the borough was ‘very close’ to being placed into Tier 3 when the government placed areas in post-lockdown restrictions.

Her comments were supported by council chief executive Andrew Lewis, who said the borough was ‘within the Tier 3 sphere’.

He added: “The reductions in our infection rates have meant we have been able to enter Tier 2 and not Tier 3.

“We are still facing considerable pressure on our hospitals — but we feel we are in the right place and we say we are moving in the right direction, with rates continuing to fall.”

Additionally, director of public health Ian Ashworth said the decision ‘went a little bit close to the wire’.

The latest data up to November 25 says CWAC has a seven-day infection rate of 113.4 cases per 100,000 people.

Mr Ashworth said this figure is the product of a ‘stark drop’ in case numbers, with the area experiencing a 52 per cent fall in its infection rate compared to the previous seven-day period.

52 per cent was also the scale of the infection rate decrease seen in the borough’s over-60 population, which is currently 116.

Those shrinks were reflected in the county’s testing figures — with 6 per cent of tests in CWAC, and 5.8 per cent in Cheshire East, returning a positive result.

The public health expert also indicated that the diminishments were especially encouraging given that the region’s testing rate has not dropped, meaning a similar number of residents are still getting tests compared to a few weeks ago.