THE opening of a Covid-19 test centre in Crewe has been put back until next week.

Cheshire East's first walk-in testing centre was due to open tomorrow (Thursday) on Chester Street car park by the Crosville Club.

Pilot testing is ongoing on the site but Cheshire East Council has confirmed the centre will not be ready for public use until Monday (October 5).

It comes as coronavirus infection rates rise in the borough with an infection rate of 51 cases per 100,000 residents up from 32 per 100,000 last week.

Cheshire East leaders are in talks with their counterparts at Cheshire West and Chester Council, the county's MPs and the government over what additional Covid-19 restrictions are needed in the borough.

Cheshire East has already applied for extra enforcement powers and it is understood work between the two authorities is ongoing over trying to establish which extra measures are needed to reduce the rate of infection.

Cheshire East leadear Cllr Sam Corcoran said: "We have a number of enforcement powers that we can use and we will use them to their fullest potential where applicable to deal with the risk of infection."

Cheshire West and Cheshire agreed at its outbreak board meeting on Monday to work with Cheshire East on how to stop residents from one borough travelling to another, potentially increasing the spread of the virus.

The approach therefore requires both boroughs to request extra restrictions, or none at all.

At the meeting, Cheshire West and Cheshire's Labour leader Cllr Louise Gittins said: "We would rather do something sooner than later. We need to work with Cheshire East and we should look to restrict movement between households.

"We need to do this for the greater good, we need to protect the vulnerable. We will work closely with Cheshire East to talk to the government about the possibility of extra restrictions around households mixing with each other."

Cheshire West and Chester's infection rate currently stands at 60.9 cases per 100,000 people.

When the Crewe test centre opens residents will need to pre-book appointments before accessing the walk-through. The council have also confirmed that people can drive to Crewe, park nearby and walk through the facility if needs be. Users will be asked to self-swab when attending.

The new Crewe centre will be a semi-permanent facility; a mobile drive-through centre has been in operation on the Chester Street car park on a temporary basis previously, while there has also been a mobile drive-through at Leighton Hospital.

Unlike mobile testing units the centre will be open for several months rather than the usual four-day stay.

CEC officials are also reminding that only symptomatic residents should get a test, to help reduce the burden on the test and trace system.