Mayor Of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham provided a glimmer of hope as he presented the latest figures for Covid across the region .
The last week was the first since the middle of August that has seen a week on week reduction in positive tests with nine out of the ten regions showing falls while we are also seeing a falling infection rate among the older age range which the Mayor described as ‘encouraging sign’.
However the pressure on hospitals continues and whilst admissions are down on the previous week, the evidence suggests that people with the infection are spending longer in hospital
Greater Manchester’s intensive care capacity had reached 79% and there had been a sharp rise in the number of Covid patients in non-critical care in the first week of Novemb
Meanwhile the rate of care home infection, while not as the levels of April May, is rising.
Joining him during the press conference was Deputy Mayor Beverley Hughes who described last weekend’s lockdwon protest in the centre of Manchester as “a reckless and irresponsible event that should never have happened”
She said that this time around the lockdown certainly did not feel like the one in the spring and traffic levels on our roads had not dropped significantly.By and large she added, people were being compliant but warned that the new regulations will be enforced very swiftly and very strongly.
Asked about compiliance, both Andy Burnham and Beverley Hughes felt that the vaccine news may lead to people being less vigilent Highhes said that it was important not to ‘jump ahead’ reminding the public that while rates may be slightly falling here, they are still very high’ compared to other parts of the country.
