CORONAVIRUS cases have surged sharply in Cheshire East at the beginning of the new year as a call has been made to shut down primary schools.

There has been a 77 per cent rise in people testing positive for Covid-19 over the last seven days with the numbers yesterday (January 3) totalling 337; last Tuesday (December 29) there were 243 positive tests.

In all there were 1,634 positive cases in the borough between December 28 and January 3; between December 23 and 29 there were 1,061, which was a 33 per cent rise on the previous week.

The numbers of Covid-19 patients being treated at Leighton Hospital has risen well over the 100 mark with 131 under the care of the medical complex last week (December 30).

With the new Covid variant leading to a rapid escalation in case numbers across the country Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to outline further measures in a televised address this evening (8pm).

The call to close primary schools - which, unlike secondary schools, have reopened for the spring term today - has grown even though the PM has stressed that "schools are safe" for pupils.

England's biggest teaching union, the NEU, has advised its members of their rights not to return to classrooms.

Now an open letter has been sent to Cheshire East Council leader Sam Corcoran, Cllr Kathryn Flavell, the council's Portfolio Holder for Children and Families, and Director of Education Jacky Forster calling on them to close schools.

The council is being asked to prepare for online learning for most children and in-person learning for vulnerable children and those from key worker families.

The letter has been signed by 10 Cheshire East Labour councillors, including seven from Crewe as well as six Crewe town councillors, two medics as well as over 40 local teaching staff and trade unionists.

It states: "Under normal circumstances it is important for children to be in school. But there is now increasing evidence showing growing transmission rates across school age young people across the country. SAGE (the official scientific advisory body of government) has recognised it is unlikely the R rate will reduce to below '1' without the closure of schools.

"We call upon Cheshire East Council to advise local schools (primary and secondary) not to reopen to all children in the next couple weeks and to write to the government calling for it to close schools for a period until it is deemed safe to reopen."

But Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan says he would prefer to see children in school if and until any change is announced and says parents should be reassured their children are safe. He says the evidence suggests teachers are at no more risk than NHS staff, supermarket staff and other key workers.

"It's easy to say close schools, but there are consequences. Schools remain safe for children. Despite what some have said, this hasn't changed. It is very sad to see people spreading fake news about risks to children," said the MP.

"The question is about whether with the new strain, with children at schools, there may simply be too many opportunities for the virus to spread. There are a lot of unknowns. For the right reasons the government only takes harsher lockdown steps when they are absolutely necessary.

"The government may soon decide to close schools but it will be done reluctantly because it thinks it can't avoid it, not because some union leaders want to look tough being obstructive to a government trying to manage a national crisis."