Diagnosed coronavirus cases in Southport are rising rapidly

Numbers of new coronavirus cases in Southport tripled over an eight day period in the build up to Christmas.

Data published by the NHS and the Government show that the number of new cases diagnosed in Southport in a 7 day period rose from 43 on 14th December to 124 on 23rd December.

However ‘Southport South’ (an area stretching roughly from Birkdale to Virginia Street, and Talbot Street to Cemetery Road) saw the lowest rise in cases in the entire Liverpool City Region, along with the Hesketh Park area.

Ainsdale and Hillside saw a slight reduction in the number of new cases over 7 days.

The number of weekly 111 triages remains low across across the town, suggesting that increased mass testing is contributing to the figures.

But the true number of cases could be much higher, according to the ZOE Covid Symptom Study.

An app created by ZOE asks users to list symptoms, whether or not someone has coronavirus, to suggest an ‘undiagnosed’ figure.

ZOE suggest that 258 Southport residents have contracted coronavirus in the past 7 days.

Mass testing is now available at Splash World, and is available for residents who do not show any symptoms.

Several people reported queuing for 3 hours on Christmas, in the hope of confirming a negative test before seeing loved ones on Christmas Day.

OTS understands that several people who queued on Christmas Eve later received an NHS coronavirus app notification suggesting proximity to someone with a positive test, even though they themselves tested negative.

The Government is set to review the “tier” system on 30th December.

The number of new cases across the Liverpool City Region has doubled in 2 weeks, leaving officials fearing the possibility that the borough could be moved into tier 3.