Leader of Cheshire East Council, Sam Corcoran is urging all Sandbach residents to get fully vaccinated on the first day restrictions lift.

He says the overall infection rate in Cheshire East is now 350 per 100,000 and there is a huge variation in the infection rate with the biggest figures in the 20 – 24 age group.

Rates are over 1,000 in the 20 – 24 age group but 35 in the 75 – 79 age group but he says two months ago, the overall infection rate was under 20, so even 35 per 100,000 is "worryingly high", he says.

And he has warned people to look out for the changes in the new symptoms which have changed from a high temperature, loss of smell or taste and a persistent cough to a headache, runny nose and a sore throat.

Cheshire East Council fears this is likely to rise now restrictions have lifted, with record levels of infection over the next few weeks predicted.

Cllr Crorocan said: "So far the number of hospital admissions has not risen as sharply as the number of infections and the death rate is very low.

"I think it is fair to attribute this to the effectiveness of the vaccines and the fact that most of the recent infections have been in the younger age groups who tend not to be as badly affected as the older age groups.