Star date: 23rd October 2020

NUMBER OF SERIOUSLY ILL COVID PATIENTS RISES SHARPLY IN NORTH WEST

As Greater Manchester moves into Very High Alert level restrictions today, Salford has 186 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the cumulative total to 6,677. There have been three new virus-related deaths at Salford Royal Hospital, as the number of COVID patients admitted to hospital and on ventilators in the North West has risen sharply over the last month.

Meanwhile, pupils in a Year 5 bubble at Lark Hill Community Primary School are self-isolating, while St Patrick's RC High School in Eccles has cases in Year 8, 10 and 11. And the backlash against Boris continues with banners strung across the region's bridges.

Full details here...

Salford has 186 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, bringing the cumulative total to 6,677, up from the previous day's 6,491. The Government has changed the way that cases are reported and now gives case numbers for the most recent seven day period, plus the current rate per 100,000 population.*

So Salford has had 1,199 cases over seven days (ending five days before the date when the website was updated) with a rate per 100,000 population of 463.2

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, cases in Manchester during this period were 2,370 (with a rate of 428.7). Other boroughs stats are Bolton 1,261 (438.5), Oldham 1,063 (448.3), Wigan 1,519 (462.2), Tameside 837 (369.5), Rochdale 1,090 (490.1), Stockport 888 (302.6), Bury 800 (418.9) and Trafford 764 (321.9).

There have been three new virus-related deaths at Salford Royal Hospital. While figures aren't available yet for the number of patients in Salford Royal, statistics for the North West as a whole show a phenomenal rise over the last month.

On 19th October, 230 COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals in the North West, compared to 52 on 19th September. As of 21st October there were a total of 2,045 COVID-19 patients actually in the hospitals, compared with 393 on 21st September. And, as of that date, there were 185 COVID-19 patients on ventilators compared to 40 on 21st September.

Meanwhile, pupils in a Year 5 bubble at Lark Hill Community Primary School are self-isolating, while St Patrick's RC High School in Eccles has cases in Year 8, 10 and 11. This month, Headteacher Alison Byrne, has sent five video messages to parents about cases, the latest praising staff and pupils but talking of the "pressure" and "difficult times".

Today, Very High Alert restrictions for Salford and Greater Manchester have come into force, with casinos, bingo halls, betting shops, adult gaming centres and soft play areas closing, and pubs and bars closing, unless they are serving substantial meals.

There is also a ban on households mixing indoors or in most outdoor settings, while in some public outdoor spaces, groups must be limited to the rule of six, and people are advised not to travel into and out of the area. For full details of 'cans' and 'can'ts' see the Government website – click here

In Greater Manchester, the backlash against the Government's refusal to give the region full financial backing and provide free school meals during holidays has continued, with a series of banners strung across local bridges proclaiming 'End London Rule' and 'The North Will Rise Again...Tories Out!'...

* The Government website explains: "Total number of people with at least one lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 test result in the most recent seven day period. The rates per 100,000 resident population give a fairer comparison of the number of cases in each area but they do not take account of the different rates of testing or differences in the age and sex of the local populations. Data shown are cases by specimen date and because these are incomplete for the most recent dates, the period represented is the seven days ending 5 days before the date when the website was last updated."