Four out of five agree with return to full lockdown in Greater Manchester

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates are dropping in every borough in Greater Manchester.All 10 boroughs are below the national average, the latest figures from Public Health England show.And nine out of the 10 boroughs saw a double figure percentage drop in the week up to January 19.Only Manchester now has an infection rate of over 400 cases per 100,000 people.The national average is currently 437.1.Oldham, which once had the highest rate in the country, is currently the least

direct to your inboxInfection rates are continuing to fall across every Greater Manchester borough.Each of the region’s ten boroughs are below England's average of 452.5 per 100,000 people in the week ending January 18.Only the city of Manchester has a rate above 400 and Oldham - which once had the highest rates in the country - is now sitting at 282.6 cases per 100,000 people for the same time period.Here in Greater Manchester, the borough of Trafford had the biggest drop in cases in the seven

direct to your inboxThe Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is to open emergency Covid beds for adults in a sign of the unprecedented pressure facing Greater Manchester’s hospitals.Sir Richard Leese, the region’s health chief, said the situation in the system was now ‘critical’ as NHS bosses have scrambled to discharge as many people as possible ahead of a sustained peak over the coming three weeks.Crisis meetings have been held to determine the ability to scale up beds, as Salford Royal and

direct to your inboxThe NHS has sadly confirmed the deaths of 29 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for Covid-19.The region's hospital death toll now stands at 4,757.NHS bosses said on Friday a further 993 people who tested positive for the virus have died in hospitals across England.It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 65,104.In the north west, a further 94 hospital deaths were reported, the NHS said on Friday.A

straight to your inbox every day for freeManchester United’s advantage over Liverpool extended on Thursday night, and Jamie Carragher has pinpointed five players whose standards have dropped.United’s rivals lost at home to Burnley to remain six points adrift of the league leaders, having played the same number of games as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.To add insult to injury, the loss also meant that Liverpool’s four-year unbeaten home record in the league came to an end.Former Liverpool defender

direct to your inboxThe last 24 hours has seen multiple deluges of rain, inches of snow, roads and homes collapsing, and a slew of serious car crashes as the region was 'just centimetres' away from disaster. In the wake of Storm Christoph hitting Greater Manchester, the city's Fire and Rescue Service chief has spoken out about a day, night and further day filled with drama.

Wigan, a woman became stuck in her car with water up to the bonnet.  In Radcliffe, fire crews were called to a river that had burst its banks.

direct to your inboxA number of flood warnings and alerts are in place across Greater Manchester and its surrounding area after hundreds of residents were evacuated from their homes overnight. Storm Christoph has brought heavy, torrential rain to the region yesterday (Wednesday) before snow settled in overnight.

direct to your inboxDoctors in Greater Manchester fear the impact of Christmas mixing and a fast-spreading variant of coronavirus will soon lead to chaos in hospitals. Exhausted medics based in a coronavirus ward and in A&E told the Manchester Evening News they are facing a range of mounting challenges.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus infection rates in some parts of Greater Manchester are beginning to fall.Lockdown measures appear to be taking effect across the region, with five boroughs seeing a reduction in cases for the first time in two weeks.The latest infection rate for the region was 419.30 cases per 100,000 population in the week ending January 11, according to figures released by Public Health England.Cases are now seeing a week-on-week fall in Wigan, Trafford, Stockport, Rochdale and

direct to your inboxThirty-five more people have died Greater Manchester's hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus.The region's hospital death toll has now reached 4,560, the latest NHS data shows.Sixteen more deaths were recorded at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust; the organisation in charge of the Manchester Royal Infirmary and Wythenshawe Hospital.Meanwhile, six more deaths were recorded at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, five at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and three at

direct to your inboxA flood 'alert' has been put in force in Greater Manchester today after hours of heavy rainfall overnight.The alert warns of 'possible' flooding around the area of the middle River Mersey catchment area.It includes areas near Bramhall in Stockport, Sale, Altrincham and Urmston.The Environment Agency warned: "Flooding is possible - be prepared."And Transport for Greater Manchester said: "With heavy rain in Greater Manchester this morning, expect flooding in some areas.

direct to your inboxA further 24 people have died in Greater Manchester's hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus.The region's COVID-19 hospital death toll has risen to 4,381, the latest NHS figures show.Seven more Covid-related deaths were recorded by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust; the organisation in charge of the city's main hospitals including the MRI and Wythenshawe hospital.Six additional deaths were confirmed by Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Royal

Salford, Trafford and Stockport this morning (Thursday, January 7). One of the warrants was executed at a home in Rake Lane, in Clifton.

direct to your inboxA Greater Manchester Police officer who repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl has been jailed.Farooq Ahmed, 37, walked into a police station with a confession note before Christmas.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester’s Covid-19 infection rate has crept above 300 for the first time since November 19.It is currently 300.9 per 100,000 people in the seven days up to December 31.That represents a 45 per cent week-on-week increase and is the first time it has risen above 300 since November 19.Despite the rising number of cases here, our region’s rates are still well below the English rate - which is currently 537.5.The fastest growth is happening in Wigan, where cases are up

direct to your inboxBosses at an Oldham primary school say “it is not safe” for pupils to return tomorrow and they will not be opening.The ‘majority’ of teaching staff at Holy Trinity C of E School, in Dobcross, are not expected to return to school on Monday morning (January 4) as advised by their union.They are said to be acting on advice from the National Education Union that “it is not safe to return to work if a school is in a Tier 4 area”.As such, Holy Trinity will be closed to all but

direct to your inboxFour more people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Greater Manchester's hospitals.It brings the total number of deaths in the region's hospitals to 4,245.Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust recorded further two deaths in the last 24 hours.Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust each reported one death.The total number of coronavirus deaths at hospital trusts in Greater Manchester, as of January 2, are:B

direct to your inboxPrimary schools in London will remain closed following a government U-turn.It comes after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced 50 education authorities in the south of England would be closed to primary school pupils for the first two weeks of term.The list failed to encompass several school areas in London, where Covid-19 rates remain alarmingly high as the new strain continues to spread across the country.Latest scientific advice warns that the new strain variant

direct to your inboxThe streets were empty as Greater Manchester said goodbye to 2020 and ushered in a new year - but many were determined to keep alive at least one tradition.Our video from Werneth Low shows how many parts of Greater Manchester were ablaze with colour as people set off fireworks at midnight to celebrate the arrival of 2021.Around 200 socially distanced people gathered on the popular spot to watch the moment our region said goodbye to 2020 and ushered in the New Year.Car horns