Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone 'not a congestion charge' says minister as thousands sign petition against it

direct to your inboxThe number of new Covid-19 hospital admissions in Greater Manchester is rising for the first time since mid-November, as the mayor warns the arrival of a potent new strain to the region is now ‘inevitable’.However Andy Burnham says he does not yet think the time is right for the conurbation to be placed into Tier 4 restrictions.He told this afternoon’s weekly press conference that infection rates here - which are up 1pc in the past week - are still ‘flatlining’ and argued the

direct to your inboxAn elderly couple were conned out of thousands of pounds at Christmas by evil fraudsters who claimed to be Greater Manchester Police officers.Police chiefs have issued a festive fraud warning as a result.Detectives are investigating after the couple handed over bundles of £50 notes.The victims - who haven't been identified - visited their banks and building societies to withdraw cash.Police haven't revealed the exact sum involved, but said it was 'thousands of pounds'.The

Don't miss a thing that's happening in and around Bury by signing up to the free MyBury newsletterThe coronavirus infection rate has gone up in Greater Manchester for the first time in weeks.It currently sits at 161.4 per 100,000 people during the week ending December 15 - that's a 6.3 per cent increase on the previous week.It is the first week-on-week increase in Greater Manchester of more than 1 percent since October 31.The infection rate has remained fairly level across the region for the

Katie Price has been left very upset after a petition has put up online, calling for her to be banned for life from owning pets.The former glamour model’s representatives revealed the star was “devastated” by the petition and that it is “incorrect” and “unjust” to say that she doesn’t love her animals. Katie's representative told The Sun: "Katie is aware of this petition.

direct to your inboxTameside now has the most places with hardly any cases of Covid-19 in Greater Manchester.The borough’s council boss says the explanation is simple – everyone has ‘played their part’.The latest hyper-local neighbourhood data shows that there are five areas of the borough which saw two or fewer cases in the last week.Ashton North, Audenshaw, Hurst Cross, Denton East and Dukinfield West all saw either two, one or no new infections in the seven days to December 11 according to

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester has stayed in Tier 3 following a government review.There was speculation that the region could be downgraded to Tier 2 following a dramatic drop in coronavirus case rates.Greater Manchester boroughs now have infection rates that are lower than the average for England, the latest Public Health England data has shown.Mayor Andy Burnham also argued on Wednesday that there was a "clear case" for the region being eased into Tier 2.However, Matt Hancock announced

direct to your inbox Nine Greater Manchester boroughs now have coronavirus infection rates that are lower than the average for England - but numbers are beginning to creep up in some areas.

direct to your inbox The latest coronavirus infection rates for every local authority in England have been released.

direct to your inboxCoronavirus has brought heartache to thousands of families across Greater Manchester.More than 3,800 people have died in our region's hospitals alone. And tragically, this number is continuing to rise.Behind the Covid-19 death statistics that we publish each day are human beings who all had stories to tell.

direct to your inboxWe're just over a week into December and the region's courts have already been busy. People have been locked up for all manner of  criminal offences  with M.E.N.

direct to your inboxFive Greater Manchester boroughs now have coronavirus infection rates that are lower than the average figure for England, the latest data shows.Bolton, Salford, Tameside, Stockport and Trafford all have lower transmission rates than the average for the nation as a whole.This is the first time the infection rate in Bolton has fallen below the national average.The latest Public Health England figures show the rate in the borough for the week ending December 7 was 156.6 per

direct to your inboxTwenty-six more people have died from coronavirus in Greater Manchester's hospitals.The region's hospital death toll has risen to 3,900, the latest NHS figures show.Nine more Covid-related deaths were recorded by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in its 24 hour data.The trust runs the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI), Wythenshawe Hospital, the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Saint Mary's hospital.Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed five new deaths.

direct to your inboxThe latest coronavirus infection rates demonstrate a widening gap between northern and southern boroughs in Greater Manchester.Public Health data from the week ending December 6 shows that boroughs which lie south of the city now have an infection rate lower than the national average.It comes as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the disparity in rates could see the conurbation split up into different tiers when the government come to review the system next week.He

direct to your inboxEighteen more people have died from coronavirus in Greater Manchester's hospitals.The region's hospital death toll has now risen to 3,787, the latest NHS figures show.Thirteen new deaths were recorded at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, the organisation in charge of the Manchester Royal Infirmary, Wythenshawe Hospital, Saint Mary's and the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed four new deaths.

direct to your inbox The latest coronavirus rates for each local authority in England over the last week have been revealed. Thursday's update of the rolling seven-day rate of new cases for the seven days to November 29 reveal which areas of the country are seeing reductions in infections - and the ones that are increasing.

petition, titled 'Implement a two week school lockdown before 24 December to save Christmas' has amassed almost 118.5k signatures, above the 100k needed to spark a debate in Parliament. But the Department for Education has been quick to respond, stressing it 'remains a national priority to keep schools open full time and and avoid further disruption to education'.The government has already shot down the attempt of one education trust to close earlier than planned.

Coronavirus infection rates are falling faster in Greater Manchester than at any time during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest data from Public Health England.The rate for the Greater Manchester region is now 246.9, the lowest it has been since the end of September.There were exactly 7000 confirmed cases in Greater Manchester for the week ending November 23, which is 3,796 fewer cases than in the previous week.That represents a week-on-week fall of 35.2 per cent, the highest

Claims by Salford Tories that they were instrumental in the council deferring approval of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework have been branded ‘bizarre’ by the city’s mayor.Opposition councillors had asked for the controversial housing and jobs masterplan to be called in for further scrutiny at a meeting today, only for it to be cancelled.Thousands of homes are earmarked across the borough including within the borough's green belt, though the majority of new development would fall within