THE number of Covid-19 cases being reported in Cheshire East continues its downward trend with a drop of a third in the last week.

Health chiefs are still urging caution as social mixing increases after the government's move to Step 4 on July 19. But the figures from government data are encouraging with the numbers of people testing positive today (Wednesday) at 124 compared to 227 last Tuesday (July 20).

Over the past seven days 1,228 people have registered a positive test, but that is 611 down on the previous week. In the week before the figure was 1,912 people.

There were no deaths recorded today (28 days after a positive test), although there were four in the borough over the past week.

The seven-day rolling rate of infection dropped to 376.2 per 100,000 of population on July 23 (last Friday) after that figure peaked at 479 two weeks ago (July 16). There are still four areas of Crewe, though, with rolling rates above 400.

A week ago Cheshire East Council Director of Public Health Dr Matt Tyrer warned the situation was "going to get far worse before it gets any better" and he and council leader Cllr Sam Corcoran advised people to carry on wearing masks in crowded or close proximity settings and urged the younger age groups to get fully vaccinated.

Cheshire East is following the national trend of falling cases which counteract the more "pessimistic" outlook predicted.

But PM Boris Johnson has said people should not jump to "premature conclusions" yet and the current view is that this wave of infection is finely balanced, while under control because of the levels of immunity as a result of the vaccination programme and the lower levels of mixing before July 19.

Health chiefs are still wary that much the higher levels of mixing of the last 10 days could work through to higher numbers of infections.

Hospitalisations have still crept up at Leighton Hospital where the latest figures (although lagging by a week back to July 20) showed 17 people were undergoing treatment for the virus, eight of whom required ventilation.