AS of today, Wednesday, the second national coronavirus lockdown has come to an end.
The strict measures were introduced to slow the spread of Covid-19 and bring rates of infection under control.
These restrictions have been replaced by the tier system that was in place before the lockdown began on Thursday, November 5.
But while in many ways the system is the same, politicians have said some strengthening of measures has been introduced to keep the virus under control.
The question remains however – how effective has the lockdown been in Warrington?
What is the current rate of infection?
The number of new people testing positive continues to fall, according to Public Health England figures released yesterday, Tuesday, which was the final day of the lockdown.
In the seven days up to November 26, there were 296 new cases identified in the town.
This demonstrates a significant fall compared to week up to November 5 – the day that lockdown 2 was introduced – which saw 466 new cases recorded.
The most recent seven-day period was also the first time Warrington’s weekly case figure dropped below 300 since the week up to September 21.
Warrington’s rate of new coronavirus cases now stands at 140.9 per 100,000 people, which is again lower than the rate of 360.1 calculated for the seven days up to November 5.
The town is also doing better compared to other areas of England. It is now the 141st worst affected place, compared with 37th when lockdown started.
How many coronavirus patients are in hospital?
As of yesterday, Warrington Hospital was caring for 148 patients that tested positive for the virus, of which 14 were in intensive care.
The Covid-19 death toll for Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust stood at 258.
The number of patients being cared for has dropped slightly under lockdown, but it has importantly stabilised after seeing increases each day before restrictions were imposed.
On November 5, the hospital was caring for 154 Covid-positive patients, with 18 in ICU.
At that time, the trust’s death toll stood at 200.
How about schools?
As of Monday, the number of education and early years settings with Covid-19 cases was 23.
These settings include private nurseries, pre-school, primary schools, high schools, special schools and further education establishments.
The number of pupils self-isolating after coming in close contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus was recorded at 1,498.
These education statistics were not available at the start of the lockdown period, so we are unable to make a comparison.
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