Five MRSA cases at Greater Manchester hospitals over seven months treated as 'serious incident'

for the easing of lockdown restrictions, starting from next month.

Get the latest updates from across Greater Manchester direct to your inbox with the free MEN newsletterYou can sign up very simply by following the instructions hereLocal authority: 7-day total cases in week ending February 17 (increase on previous week) 1. Doncaster: 648 cases (+63) 2. Tameside: 469 cases (+51) 3.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus has brought heartache to thousands of families across Greater Manchester.More than 5,200 people have died in our region's hospitals alone. And tragically, this number is continuing to rise.

direct to your inboxTameside is one of only 14 places in England showing a week-on-week rise in coronavirus cases.The borough recorded 462 cases in the week ending February 15 - that’s 54 more than in the previous week.It’s the biggest increase in case numbers in the past week out of anywhere in the country although the spike in its overall rate, which has gone up by 10 percent, is not the biggest national percentage rise.Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, Bury had 403 cases in this seven-day

direct to your inboxHealth chiefs are growing increasingly concerned that Covid-19 cases in Greater Manchester are not falling as quickly as in other parts of the country - and fear the region could face being locked down for even longer.One director of public health has warned there continues to be a ‘reservoir’ of coronavirus circulating in the community, which is keeping infection rates high.As of Wednesday, all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs recorded an infection rate higher than the England

direct to your inboxThe NHS has confirmed the deaths of 18 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for coronavirus.Nationally, a further 309 hospital deaths were reported on Thursday.Of those, 42 were in hospitals in the north west region.Six further deaths have been recorded at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, with five more at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust.Three further deaths were recorded at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh

hereBolton has the highest rate in the region, and the 11th highest in the country.Across Greater Manchester as whole the infection rates continue to fall, but the rate of decline has started to level off, the figures indicate.The infection rate is slightly higher today in Salford, Trafford, Oldham and Stockport than it was yesterday - Monday - but this increase has not yet been reflected in a week-on-week trend.Therefore it's too early to tell if cases will continue to rise in these areas over

direct to your inboxAnother five people have died in Greater Manchester's hospitals within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.The region's hospital death toll is now 5,350, NHS England figures show.On Monday a further two deaths were recorded at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, while Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and The Christie each reported one more fatality.The total number of coronavirus deaths at hospital trusts in Greater

Coronavirus infection rates are continuing to fall in all but one area of Greater Manchester.The rate in Bolton is currently 281.7 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to February 9.There were 810 cases recorded in the town that week - a one percent increase on the previous week.Bolton still has the highest rate in Greater Manchester and is one of only 15 local areas in England showing a week-on-week increase.Rutland, in the east Midlands, currently has the highest infection rate in the

direct to your inboxFormer Manchester United and England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain says she wouldn't be keen on facing the goal threat presented by Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly in Friday night's Manchester derby.The two Manchester sides face off at the top of the Barclays FA Women's Super League table - with City enjoying the edge with their recent scintillating form.And Hemp has been particularly impressive in the last six weeks."I definitely wouldn't want to be defending against her or

hereIn Salford, which has the second highest infection rate in the conurbation, at 261.6, cases fell by seven per cent compared to the week before.The latest infection rate figures come as a further 34 more people died in Greater Manchester's Hospitals after testing positive for Coronavirus.It brings the region's hospital death toll to 5,255.NHS England announced a further 664 deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities in NHS hospitals in England to 77,253.

Coronavirus infection rates are falling in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester.As the third national lockdown continues, the proportion of cases per 100,000 people is reducing week-on-week across the conurbation.There is some disparity in the rate at which cases are falling, with some boroughs seeing a more significant decrease than others.Seven boroughs now have a higher infection rate than the national average, which was 202.1 per 100,000 on February 5.Greater Manchester's overall

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates continue to fall across most of the region - but one borough has seen a slight rise in cases.There were 799 new cases in Bolton in the week to February 4, a 1% rise on the previous seven days.Every other borough saw a drop in cases, the latest Public Health England figures show.But Oldham's infection rate, while continuing to fall, is now above the national average of 211.8 cases per 100,000 people.Salford saw the smallest drop in cases, down 1% to

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United are targeting a summer move for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, according to reports.With little over a day of the January transfer window remaining, United aren't expected to welcome any new arrivals on deadline day after a quiet month.M.E.N.

straight to your inbox every day for freeJamie Carragher believes Paul Pogba's impressive performances off the left flank for Manchester United have caused a problem for Marcus Rashford.Pogba has been in fine form for United over the past couple of months and started on the wing for big games against Liverpool and Arsenal of late, allowing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to still play two holding midfielders behind Bruno Fernandes.

straight to your inbox every day for freeMauricio Pochettino says he did not speak openly in the media about taking a new managerial job because he felt that he was being linked with so many positions at the same time.The Argentine manager had been without a job since he was sacked by Tottenham in November 2019 when he was appointed as the new manager of Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the year.Pochettino had been heavily linked with a number of jobs across Europe with Manchester United

direct to your inboxA yellow weather warning has been put in place for Greater Manchester with more heavy rain on its way.The wet weather is likely to lead to some travel disruption and possible flooding, the Met Office has warned.Following last week's torrential downpour from Storm Christoph thousands of homes had to be evacuated due to rising water levels.Many of the region's rivers reached 'dangerously high levels', the Environment Agency said, with the River Mersey coming 'very close' to

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates are continuing to fall in every borough in Greater Manchester, the latest data shows.The latest Public Health England figures show the transmission rate is lower than the national average in all areas across the region.Infection rates are dropping in every area, with the rate now falling below 360 per 100,000 in every borough.Manchester continues to have the highest infection rate in the region.It was recorded at 355.8 in the week ending January

direct to your inboxAround 70pc of Covid-19 cases in Tameside are believed to be caused by the new more contagious strain of the virus.Health chiefs say that the new variant of coronavirus, which was first detected in Kent, is now ‘dominant’ in the borough and across much of Greater Manchester.Speaking at a meeting of the health and wellbeing board, director of public health Jeanelle de Gruchy said they needed to be ‘really vigilant’ against the new strain.“We’re seeing high numbers of outbreaks

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates are continuing to fall in every borough in Greater Manchester, the latest data shows.The latest Public Health England figures show the transmission rate is lower than the national average in all areas across the region.Infection rates are dropping in every area, with the rate now falling below 370 per 100,000 in every borough.Manchester continues to have the highest infection rate in the region.It was recorded at 367.9 in the week ending January