The leader of Cheshire East Council has said he is "concerned" about increases in the Covid-19 infection rates ahead of a further relaxation of lockdown restrictions later this month.

Cllr Sam Corcoran made the comments in a video posted on Twitter on Sunday (2 May) while also urging people to remain cautious.

The Sandbach Heath and East councillor said: "The infection numbers in Cheshire East are still low but have again risen slightly this week and the infection rate is up to 17.4 per 100,000, from 17.2 a week ago and 13.8 a fortnight ago. The impact of restrictions takes about two weeks to show through on infection rates and the last relaxations were on 12 April, including opening of shops and outdoor hospitality.

"I am concerned that if the rate is already going up then the next round of relaxation planned for 17 May could lead to a faster increase in the infection rate."

Among the changes to come in on 17 May will be to allow indoor service at pubs and restaurants as well as the rule of six to applying indoors meaning people can visit other homes, including overnight stays.

Despite the concern, Cllr Corcoran said he hopes the vaccination rollout can act as a "compensating factor" to prevent any surge in infections.

He added: "I am hopeful that the Cheshire East Council Test Trace team, now contacting all cases in Cheshire East as part of a Local-Zero pilot programme, will also have more of an impact than the failed £20bn national Serco-led Test Trace system."

The council leader said the locally-run test and trace team are contacting 90 per cent of close contacts compared to an average of 68 per cent for the national system.

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