direct to your inboxStepping Hill Hospital is bracing itself for a ‘third wave’ of Covid-19 in the new year due to people mixing more over the Christmas period.Three households will be able to form a ‘Christmas bubble’ between December 23 and 27, allowing them to meet indoors and enjoy overnight stays.There will also be no travel restrictions between those dates.Stockport saw its infection rate drop sharply during the second national lockdown - and the latest figures now put it at well below the England average.Stepping Hill - run by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust - is now looking to restart elective surgery due to the fall in the number of Covid-19 patients.But medical director Dr Colin Wasson told a trust board meeting the hospital needed.