'Positive outlook' ahead for Cheshire after tumultuous week of coronavirus news

However, despite the grey clouds and clouds of visible breath, the county has had a week of good news on the Covid front.

So, what exactly has been said and revealed in the days following the Easter weekend?

Boris talks vaccines and tiers in Cheshire

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister made a rescheduled visit to AstraZeneca’s Macclesfield campus.

Originally planned for last March, he toured the facilities and answered questions from regional media after announcing a £380 million investment to boost production of the company’s Zoladex cancer treatment.

Although oncology was the official reason for his visit, much of what Mr Johnson was asked was on coronavirus restrictions, infection rates, and vaccines.

Percentage of over-50s who have had their first jab

On the first point, he failed to rule out a return to the regional tier system seen last year — but he also added that the Government sees ‘nothing in the data to make us think we will have to deviate from the roadmap’.

“We look very carefully at the data across the country — there have actually been times where the decline in the North West has been faster than other parts of the country,” the Prime Minister said.

“At the moment we think the roadmap is the right one, it’s clear, and we’re sticking to it for the whole country. 

“The people of this part of the world have put up with a huge amount, and contributed a massive amount to get [through] Covid. I know how hard it’s been for families across the North West.”

On infections, he said that it was expected that they would climb as society unlocks due to ‘more mingling of people’ — something he plainly described as ‘just a reality’.

READ MORE > Why Cheshire Covid experts have 'cause for concern'

The most positive lines out of his visit came when it came to vaccines, however.

After Cheshire NHS leaders urged over-50s to get their jabs sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment, the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked if he could provide any reassurance on supply.

The Prime Minister replied: “I think that there will be continuous supply of the vaccine. The vaccine task force under Kate Bingham ages ago made some very far-sighted arrangements to make sure that we had continuous supply of a number of different vaccines.

“Don’t forget we’ve got the Scottish vaccine coming on stream later, we’ve got Moderna, we’re going to have Jansen, we have another 40 million doses of Pfizer coming down the track.

“I think the total amount is 540 million doses overall but we are still on target to deliver all the one to nine groups by April 15 to get their first jab and all adults by the end of July.

“AstraZeneca have played a remarkable role in the UK and around the world in developing a room temperature vaccine which is absolutely extraordinary.”

All in all, what can we take away from that? Tiers might come back but there’s nothing to suggest they will, infection rates will go up as we mingle more — as many expect — and vaccine supplies should stay consistent for some time yet.

Leaders have ‘positive’ outlook for future

Following Boris’ Tuesday jaunt, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Covid-19 outbreak board met a day later, and made more positive noises about the future.

“Post-Easter, we are in a much more positive frame of mind this week. The [infection] rates have come down,” CWAC chief executive Andrew Lewis said.

“We can report positive developments in taking pressure off our hospitals. There are still many people in hospital with Covid, but it is lower than we have experienced in recent months.

“We are in a comparable position with the vaccine.”

Ahead of next week’s reopening, he also urged residents and business owners to ‘check the government website for guidance’.

Covid patients at Cheshire NHS Trust hospitals

That’s in order to avoid ‘complacency’, which ‘could lead to a large increase in infection’ over the coming months, he added.

Indeed, both Cheshire boroughs have seen falls infection rates recently.

CWAC’s rate is currently 23 per 100,000 people, down by 60.5 per cent from the previous week.

In Cheshire East, the rate is 28.4 — a fall of 37 per cent.

Hospitals too are seeing falls in admissions.

Across the Mid Cheshire, East Cheshire, and Countess of Chester NHS Trusts, 29 patients were in hospital with Covid-19 as of April 6.

A month prior, that total was 90.

READ MORE > Cheshire council worker dies from blood clot after receiving AstraZeneca vaccine

AstraZeneca vaccine ‘benefits outweigh risks’ NHS leaders say

The other major vaccine news this week was the decision by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to recommend under-30s do not have the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine over a possible link to blood clots.

That prompted a wave of NHS professionals to allay concerns about the jab itself, and supplies of alternatives, for 18-30s.

Clare Watson, accountable officer for the NHS Cheshire clinical commissioning group (CCG), said: “Clearly, the benefits continue to outweigh the risks. 79 clots [were found] out of 20 million doses [delivered].

“Although that’s a concern, the benefits outweigh the risks. The AstraZeneca roll-out will not be halted in the UK. There has been a change in clinical advice in under-30s in that they should be offered an alternative vaccine.

“If you do have concerns, please speak to the people where you are going to get vaccinated. We will do everything we are required to do in terms of national and international guidance on this.”

Looking ahead to a lockdown easing

We all know what Monday entails — and they key message now in Cheshire will be ‘have fun, but be careful’.

That’s not grounded in a nanny-state attitude to exert unnecessary control by council bosses, it’s based on real-life experiences from last autumn.

Both boroughs saw a small trickle of new infections in September explode by Halloween, and never really came down until March — but only after the NHS was pushed to the limit.