THERE has been a spike in new coronavirus cases over the weekend in St Helens, according to the latest figures.

Public Health England statistics show that 17 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 between Friday (September 4) and 9am on Sunday morning.

These figures are often revised, however, at this stage the data appears to be pointing to a sharper increase in the area.

Friday’s update of the rolling seven-day rate of new cases for every local authority area in England, showed St Helens had a rate of 11.1 per 100,000 after 20 cases in seven days, up from the previous rate of 7.2 (13 cases).

This rate was for the seven days to September 1. Data for the most recent three days (September 2-4) was excluded as it is incomplete and likely to be revised.

The rate of 11.1 per cent is lower than many places around the country, particularly in parts of Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

Over the weekend two venues, The Kirkfield, in Newton-le-Willows, and The Hayloft in Bold Heath both closed temporarily as a precaution after being told customers who had visited their premises had tested positive.

There is no suggestion the infection was picked up at the venues.

Last week Sue Forster, director of public health for St Helens Borough Council, warned the public not to let its guard down and reiterated the importance of continuing to take key precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

Ms Forster said: “It is vital that we all continue to be vigilant to the risks we face as we have seen that cases can rise quickly and transmission can happen easily if we do not follow the guidance which has been in place throughout this pandemic.

“Please remember to reduce the number of people you come into contact with to help contain any potential spread, wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds regularly, keep at least 2m apart from others not in your household as much as you can, and if that is not possible, please wear a face mask – particularly in enclosed spaces.

“We know this message has been said so many times, but we cannot let our guard down to this virus as one slip is all it could take to catch coronavirus.”

Overall, since the start of the outbreak in mid-March the figures state there have been 1,317 positive tests across St Helens.

Cumulative case counts include patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.