THERE were 110 new cases across Cheshire East and West, with infection rates getting closer to 100 per 100,000 people.

New figures from Public Health England cover the 24-hour period up to 9am today, February 26.

In that time there 61 cases across Cheshire East and 49 in Cheshire West, with numbers for both remaining fairly consistent over the last week or so.

That takes Cheshire East’s total number of Covid-19 cases to 19,672 since the pandemic began, while Cheshire West has seen 20,549.

The rate of infection in both boroughs is now much lower than what it was at the peak on January 4, with Cheshire East's likely to fall below 100 per 100,000 people by next week.

Cheshire East's rate now stands at 100.5 per 100,000, with 386 reported cases in the seven days up until February 21.

That is lower than what it was yesterday (103.9) and this time last week when it was 120.5 and on the same day in January when it was two and a half times higher at 275.2.

In Cheshire West, the rate is now 120.7 per 100,000 after 414 new cases were reported across the last seven days until February 21.

This figure represents a slight spike from what it was yesterday (119.2) and although the rate has had a tendency to fluctuate this week, it is most definitely on the way down as this time last week it was 134.4.