A Bury man was confirmed as the region’s first case of Coronavirus in Greater Manchester on the 2nd March. Nine days later the World Health Organisation officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock tested positive for Coronavirus.
“After experiencing mild symptoms yesterday, the Prime Minister was tested for coronavirus on the personal advice of England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty. The test was carried out in No 10 by NHS staff and the result of the test was positive. In keeping with the guidance, the Prime Minister is self-isolating in Downing Street. He is continuing to lead the government’s response to coronavirus.”
(Downing Street Spokesperson)
Michael Gove announced that Manchester has been given the go-ahead to begin building a new hospital within Manchester Central as part of the NHS’s fight against Coronavirus.
The local council elections and elections for Greater Manchester Mayor were postponed until 2021.
Andy Burnham announced, after a meeting of the Greater Manchester COVID-19 Emergency Committee, an urgent humanitarian response to house 1000 homeless people in hotels and provide them with essential services to help them during the coronavirus crisis with £5m of funding to be used with immediate effect.
With customers facing the sight of empty shelves as toilet roll, pasta, hand sanitiser and tinned foods, supermarkets urged the public to stop panic buying.
A host of closures and cancellations happened through March as the UK had to get to grips with Coronavirus outbreak.
Tesco launched a recruitment drive as it announced that it is looking to bring in up to 20,000 people to work in its stores as demand increased due to the pandemic.
The Government announced that the upper limit for contactless card payments in the U.K. would increase from April to £45 from £30.
Didsbury Gin announced that they would be providing Greater Manchester Police with disinfectant products for the foreseeable future, by switching up production to manufacture hand sanitiser.
Interest rates were cut in the Uk in an emergency move to shore up the economy in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Monetary Policy Committee voted to cut Bank Rate for the first time since August 2016, to 0.25pc from 0.75pc, the central bank said in a statement.
Flybe announced that it had ceased trading with immediate effect and that administrators had been appointed.
A report by the Police Inspectorate found that the implementation of Greater Manchester Police’s new IT System potentially left hundreds of vulnerable people at risk and led to a huge backlog in dealing with crime.
Police seized £7.5 million of counterfeit goods during huge operation in Cheetham Hill which saw 11 people were arrested for counterfeit goods offences and 4 for immigration offences.
The Council’s Executive was asked to approve almost £2m for the first phase of the transformation of the Piccadilly Gardens area. The scheme also addressed the issue of the Pavilion’s unpopular concrete wall.
The owner of the Trafford Centre saw its share price fall by more than 40 per cent after it said that it had not been able to secure the funding needed to reduce its £4.5 billion debts.
A host of celebrities turned out in support of The Christie charity to help raise funds for a new world-leading cancer research centre. Celebrities including former Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn, Gogglebox’s Julie Malone, The Apprentice’s Lewis Ellis, Manchester United’s Max Taylor and former Rochdale footballer, Joe Thompson attended the stunning ‘Atlantis’ themed event.
Manchester rapper Bugzy Malone was injured in a road traffic accident.
Car didn’t stop or wait at the junction. End of. @TheBugzyMalone #bugzymalone#prayforbugzy pic.twitter.com/ZHKKsKtv6R
— Maddison Bates (@Pengtingcalledx) March 26, 2020
Michelin-trained Chef, Mike Jennings, was announced as the new Executive Head Chef at Manchester’s 20 Stories restaurant.
Vegan kebab chain What The Pitta arrived in Manchester. Located in the Northern Quarter, it was recently awarded the Best Takeaway in London at the British Kebab Awards.
As the lockdown hit hospital and events hard with multiple closures and cancellings the industries had to adapt.
Spanish Restaurant Lunya began offering a ‘meals on wheels’ service. The service is offered some of your favourite Lunya dishes and new home-cooked comfort food to arrive frozen, to be reheated and eaten at home.
Local health coach Suzy Glaskie launched a new podcast designed to demystify the topic of wellness – and empower people to cope with the fall-out of the Coronavirus crisis.
The award-winning team behind The Big Bakes, the UK’s first and only live baking competition, hosted an array of remote tutorials, to get the nation baking at home, all broadcast from their famous baking tents.
All-day dining South American concept, Peru Perdu at The Cotton Factory, announced it would host a series of online ceviche masterclasses and isolation parties with a virtual DJ, for guests to enjoy from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
Oldham Coliseum Theatre took its artistic and engagement activity online amidst the Coronavirus crisis, bringing the theatre and its creative opportunities into people’s homes.
Major sports ground to a halt in March including the announcement that UEFA would push back the European Championships by 12 months. This influenced the ITV, who raided their archives to provide football fans with a slice of sports nostalgia as the platform unearths every match from Euro 96 and aired all 31 games from the competition.
