ST HELENS has recorded more than 150 cases of coronavirus over the three days up until Sunday as the rise in infections has remained steady.

St Helens saw 61 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed on Friday, 60 on Saturday and then 44 in Sunday's figures.

This compared to 55 on Thursday and 41 on Wednesday.

Public Health England now includes in the statistics Pillar two tests – those carried out in the wider community – alongside Pillar one tests, which are analysed in NHS Hospitals or PHE laboratories.

On Friday, September 18 a coronavirus patient died at Whiston Hospital, the death is the first to have occurred at the trust since August 3.

This means the trust, which runs Whiston, St Helens and Newton hospitals, has now recorded 210 coronavirus deaths since the start of the outbreak in mid-March.

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On Tuesday last week, restrictions were implemented in St Helens, including for people not to socialise with others from outside their household or support bubble inside a home or private garden.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases in Tuesday's figures increased by 6,634.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced national restrictions last week in response to the growing national rate.

These include all pubs and restaurants in England closing at 10pm and people being asked to work from home, if they can.

The latest figures mean that 2,026 people in St Helens had been confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic up until 9am on Sunday, September 27.

The total rate of infection in St Helens since the start of the outbreak in March now stands at 1,146.8 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 669.8.

This includes people who have recovered, were asymptomatic, are currently infected or who have died.