The number of new Covid infections across Greater Manchester is continuing to fall at a rapid rate. All 10 boroughs have seen a fall in infection rates with fewer people requiring hospital treatment as well.
This comes as Downing Street says that the Prime Minister has not yet been issued with a fine over a No 10 lockdown drinks party, amid reports that police have started dishing out fixed-penalty notices in relation to the event. According to reports, fine notices have started landing in the email inboxes of officials who attended a “bring your own bottle” drinks do in the Downing Street garden on May 20 2020 during England’s first Covid lockdown, but Boris Johnson is not one of them yet.
The Metropolitan Police said they would not be giving an update on fixed-penalty notices (FPNs) before the local elections next month but a Downing Street source said Mr Johnson had not received a fine in relation to the gathering. Mr Johnson has previously apologised for attending the party for around 25 minutes, but has insisted he believed it to be a work event to thank staff for their efforts during the pandemic and therefore not a breach of social distancing rules.
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Meanwhile, Covid infection rates continue to drop across Greater Manchester. Stockport continues to have the highest coronavirus infection rate in the region.
The borough recorded a rate of 262.1 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending April 18, according to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency. T here were 771 positive Covid-19 tests in the borough, 2 89 fewer than the previous 7 days, a fall of 27 per cent.
There were 589 positive tests over the last week in Trafford, which is 289 fewer than in the previous week. The week-on-week trend in Trafford is down by 33 per cent and the latest infection rate is 247.9 cases per 100,000 people.
In Bury, the latest infection rate is 225.0 cases per 100,000 people and the number of cases has gone down by 26 per cent. A total of 429 people tested positive for Covid in the borough over the seven days ending on April 18, 150 fewer than the week before.
Wigan and Salford are the last remaining boroughs recording an infection rate over 200 cases per 100,000 people. Salford saw a 29 per cent fall in cases, giving it an infection rate of 208.6 new positive cases per 100,000 residents, while Wigan saw a 30 per cent fall, giving it a rate of 219.5 per 100,000.
Tameside saw a total of 436 cases in the week ending April 18, which is 186 fewer than the previous week and a fall of 30 per cent. This makes the coronavirus infection rate 192.0 cases per 100,000 people.
Bolton and Manchester both saw their case rates fall just over 20 per cent. In Manchester, the number of cases is down by 22 per cent compared to the previous week - leaving the infection rate at 175.8 cases per 100,000 population. In Bolton t here was a fall of 21 per cent in cases in the seven days to April 18, making the infection rate 184.6 cases per 100,000.
Rochdale saw the biggest fall in cases in the previous seven days. The latest infection rate here is 167.7 cases per 100,000 people. There were 375 cases recorded in Rochdale, which is 199 fewer than the previous week - a fall of 35 per cent.
Oldham has the lowest rate of cases in Greater Manchester. The borough recorded 391 positive Covid-19 tests in the week ending April 18, 148 fewer than the previous 7 days. The coronavirus infection rate in Oldham is now 164.5 cases per 100,000 people and is down by 27 per cent week-on-week.
