Covid mutation found in Liverpool now detected in parts of Lancashire as people urged to get tested

The share of episodic TV shows directed by women and people of color has reached “new highs,” according to the latest DGA Inclusion Report, with women directing more than a third of TV episodes in the 2019-20 season, and directors of color helming nearly a third of the episodes.

direct to your inboxA man from Rochdale is wanted by police.

direct to your inboxMore than 50 people without symptoms have tested positive for Covid-19 as part of a mass testing programme in south Manchester where a new variant of the virus has been found.Surge testing is being carried out in Moss Side and neighbouring areas after four cases of E484K, a mutation of the Kent strain which has spread across the country, were discovered earlier this month.

direct to your inboxResidents in parts of Harpurhey and Moston are being invited for immediate Covid tests after a mutant strain was discovered in the area. Thousands of people will be invited for testing in the coming days as health chiefs work out how the E484K mutation has developed and spread.

direct to your inboxStockport’s historic but abandoned Woodbank Hall could finally find a new lease of life under plans to convert it into apartments.The Grade II*-listed Georgian villa was once home to the industrialist Peter Marsland, and later used as a museum and council offices.Built in the early 19th century, it stands in parkland gifted to the council after the First World War in memory of the town’s fallen.

direct to your inboxThousands of people in Manchester are to be offered immediate Covid-19 tests after a new variant of the virus was identified in the area. Manchester City Council will be inviting everyone living or working within a specific footprint for tests from tomorrow after four cases of a new strain were identified in two households on Moss Side.

direct to your inboxMore than ten thousand people in Moss Side and neighbouring communities are to be offered immediate Covid-19 tests after a new variant of the virus was identified in the area.From tomorrow Manchester council will be inviting all over-16s living, working or studying within a specific footprint - including most of Moss Side and small parts of Whalley Range, Hulme and Fallowfield - for tests, after four cases of a new strain were identified in two unrelated households.Dedicated

Sign up for our What's On newsletter - for all the latest whether you're staying in or heading out and aboutPeople are being urged to take part in a nationwide star count to see if lockdown has had an impact on light pollution.“Citizen scientists” can help map the best and worst places in England to enjoy a star-filled night sky, organisers said, by counting stars within the constellation of Orion.The information on light pollution will be used in efforts to secure darker skies which improve

direct to your inboxThe South African variant of coronavirus has been found in Merseyside.Residents in the area of Southport will now be offered additional testing after evidence located the variant in the area. It comes as experts are seeking to urgently test 80,000 people in England for Covid-19 after it emerged that the South African strain of the virus may have spread in some regions.