ANOTHER 513 cases of Covid have been confirmed in Cheshire East and West – as more than 60,000 cases were recorded in the UK for the first time.

New figures from the Government cover the 24-hour period up to 9am today, January 5, when there were 60,916 cases nationwide.

Of that figure, 180 cases were in Cheshire East and 333 were in Cheshire West.

It means Cheshire East has seen 13,451 cases since the pandemic began, while Cheshire West has had 13,477.

Seven-day infection rates have risen for the sixth day in a row across both boroughs, according to Public Health England.

In Cheshire East, the rate now stands at 409.7 per 100,000 people, following 1,574 cases in the week up to December 31.

That is an increase over the figure of 379.8 per 100,000 people in yesterday’s data, 242.1 per 100,000 people one week earlier and 167.6 per 100,000 people a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile in Cheshire West, the rate of infection now stands at 479.2 per 100,000 people, following 1,644 cases in the week up to December 31.

That is an increase over the figure of 438.1 per 100,000 people in yesterday’s data, 272 per 100,000 people one week earlier and 206.4 per 100,000 people a fortnight ago.

England was placed into its third national lockdown on Monday night, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson again telling the public to ‘stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives’.