Andy Burnham slams health secretary Matt Hancock for 'anxiety and confusion' surrounding government coronavirus announcements

spilled into Manchester city centre streets and supermarkets on Saturday night at 10pm closing time after the new rule was introduced on Thursday in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. The scenes prompted Andy Burnham on Monday morning to call for an urgent government review into evidence from police forces across the country.

here"The government has said the 10pm curfew is based on Belgium, but they also have police to disperse people on the streets."My personal feeling is that the curfew is probably doing more harm than good as it’s creating a major incentive for people to carry on drinking and partying at home. And that is where we are told the virus spreads - gatherings in the home."He added: "If it is doing more harm and damaging businesses, then the government shouldn’t just plough on with it.

hugely damaging to residents' health, especially if they live with dementia.Now, care home bosses and charities are calling for a solution to enable safe visitation.Earlier this month, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham spoke of testing for residents and visitors and vowed 'to have a look' at the issue.But on Thursday, a spokesman from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said: "Under the current central Government measures, local areas with increased restrictions are advised to not

Manchester Evening News asked Mr Burnham about the position on care homes, as he had previously promised to take on the issue, after hearing heartbreaking stories from families. The M.E.N.

hereHe spoke of concerns over the performance of NHS Test and Trace in Greater Manchester, particularly the contacts of the people testing positive."The numbers are increasing each week as we see more positive cases," he said."So is the number of people not being reached.

hereSpeaking as the total number of cases rose to 4,368 in 24 hours and Covid-related deaths were recorded as 41,788, Mr Burnham also called on the Government to consult consistently with the regions - and invite more regional voices to the COBRA meetings, one of which is to be held today (Tuesday).He said: "If he (Boris Johnson) listens more to people at a regional level we would build a greater sense of national unity in facing this virus going into the rest of autumn and the winter."Referring

as chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty laid the ground for strict new controls in an urgent push to stop the ongoing surge in new coronavirus infections across the UK.

huge gatherings taking place at student accommodation, despite these measures - and some of the city's most familiar faces want to help put a stop to it.

Matt Hancock has warned Britain is at a “tipping point” as he refused to rule out a second national coronavirus lockdown.With cases on the rise, Hancock said there was a danger the numbers could “shoot through the roof” unless effective action was taken to halt the spread of the virus.His warning came as the UK Government announced anyone in England who refuses an order to self-isolate could face a fine of up to £10,000.He said: “This country faces a tipping point.

Manchester Evening News' political editor, Jennifer Williams, said the payment will be "welcomed" in Greater Manchester.

Manchester Evening News' political editor, Jennifer Williams, also appeared on The Andrew Marr Show to talk about the new support payment, which will be "welcomed" in Greater Manchester.

Manchester Evening News reported yesterday how 110 schools across the region now have confirmed Covid cases. Thousands of pupils with positive cases in their 'bubbles' have been sent home and told to self-isolate since schools reopened.

here“Leaders are talking about a form of local shielding - perhaps not the full national programme we saw earlier this year - but certainly a discussion is now underway about whether we can have a shielding programme in Greater Manchester that affords greater protection to the members of the community most at risk.”He added: “We believe as we go into the autumn and winter this is something that will be needed and is the right thing to do.

in Bolton to spike, Andy Burnham has said.The mayor revealed he had heard reports of a ‘super-spreader’ in the town who had gone out drinking after returning from holiday.He was told that someone coming back from holiday and going out drinking “is linked to a large part of the problem”.In a Greater Manchester coronavirus press conference today, the mayor said it could be one person responsible or a small number of people causing pubs to be shut.He added there is a “real concern” about the extra

There has been a ‘significant’ rise in Covid hospital admissions here in the last week, Andy Burnham has warned, urging everyone in Greater Manchester to pay urgent attention to the increase.While still at low levels, the number of admissions in the week to yesterday was around twice that of the week before.The M.E.N.

in Bolton due to a “significant rise in cases” in the borough.

across Bolton is “nowhere near enough”, Andy Burnham has said.

Bolton, Matt Hancock told the Commons: “And unfortunately after improving for several weeks, we’ve seen a very significant rise in cases in Bolton. Bolton is up to 120 cases per 100,000 of population, the highest case rate in the country and I’m publishing the data behind the decisions that we’ve taken.