'The whole thing has been an absolute farce': The political reaction in Bolton over local lockdown fiasco

Bolton South East, told The Guardian that many people in the area believed the virus was a fake, government-constructed concept and as a result were refusing to adhere to social distancing guidelines. “There is a lot of confusion about the virus in the area and there are a lot of people now who do not believe it is true,” she said.

straight to your inboxManchester United fans fumed at VAR and referee Martin Atkinson after Crystal Palace netted their second goal of the game in dubious fashion at Old Trafford. United found themselves behind after just seven minutes following some poor defending which allowed Andros Townsend to put Roy Hodgson's men ahead.United struggled to find their rhythm and committed to throwing more players forward in the second-half as they searched for an equaliser.

coronavirus infection rates.

reports LancsLive.

in Bolton.  Police were called to Smithills Dean Road to reports of a crash involving several cars on Tuesday (September 16).  A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said a driver involved in the accident allegedly failed a drugs test at the scene.  The force claims it’s the second time the driver has been arrested for drug driving in four days. In a tweet, GMP Traffic said: “#XT14 attended Smithills Dean Road Bolton following RTC involving several cars.

Manchester Airport.Annalee Wood has been trying to get a test for the last 24 hours, after her 11-year-old daughter was sent home from her school in Stockport with a cold.She has been told her daughter cannot return to school until she has completed the isolation period, or obtained a negative test.Annalee phoned the 119 help line on Thursday and was on hold for an hour, only to be told the nearest available test centre was Sheffield.After agreeing to drive there, she was then told that there

hereAt the end of August, the government announced it was going to free Trafford from Greater Manchester’s local lockdown measures, which prevented people from mixing with other households indoors.That decision was reversed after council leader Coun Andrew Western raised concerns of over rising infection rates.At the time, Sir Graham made it clear he did not agree with the government’s u-turn.He said is is now concerned about the damage lockdown has done across the country, including families

long-running soap has worked with the children's charity the NSPCC on the awareness-raising plot.

Parts of Greater Manchester remain under local lockdown measures - but for how much longer?Restrictions have been in place for more than five weeks now, and only two boroughs have seen a full lifting of local lockdown measures.Residents of Wigan and Stockport are now under national guidance while people living in Manchester, Trafford, Salford, Tameside, Rochdale and Bury are still prevented from mixing with other households in their homes and gardens.Oldham and Bolton are seeing the strictest

but the government decided to keep the restrictions in place at the last minute following a surge in cases.Stricter restrictions that prevent the mixing of different households both indoors and outdoors will remain in Oldham.However, casinos, skating rinks, conference centres and the other venues and services listed above will be allowed to reopen in Oldham along with other boroughs of Greater Manchester.Stockport and Wigan remain the only two boroughs in Greater Manchester to have their local

Salford's public health director has explained why regional restrictions should remain in place despite the number of deaths from coronavirus staying low.Rules prohibiting people from meeting with members of different households indoors or in private gardens are in force across most of Greater Manchester.Wigan and Stockport have now been released from the regional restrictions.But in Bolton and Trafford, where rules were due to be relaxed this week, the restrictions will remain in place due to a

with the second highest rate of new coronavirus cases in the country.The town was due to be released from the Greater Manchester-wide lockdown today, despite council leader David Greenhalgh making a last minute plea to Mr Hancock to reconsider the move.But this afternoon, Mr Hancock has announced that restrictions will remain in place across Bolton - and Trafford, where it's a similar story, with infection rates creeping up.He said: “Following a significant change in the level of infection rates

Bolton has been met by with surprise and confusion.From today, the town is no longer included in the Greater Manchester-wide lockdown despite a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in recent days.The latest data shows that Bolton currently has the second highest rate of new coronavirus infections in the country.There were 170 new cases in the week from August 23 to 29, with the infection rate now standing at 59.1 per 100,000 people.This has quickly risen from 18.4 the week before, when 53 people

just as it tips into the ‘red’ category for infection levels, the threshold for which is 50 cases per 100,000.

near 100 per cent increase in case numbers in the last week.

latest officially confirmed figures - which takes it up to the week ending Friday (August 28) - detail 44.9 cases per 100,000 people, only slightly below the rate of 50.

'sudden, concerning and unpredicted', has prompted council and health leaders to call an emergency meeting on Tuesday morning. Separate government figures show there were 40 new cases recorded on Thursday in Bolton.

when it emerged the latest figures show Trafford's infection rate has increased.Reacting to the row, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said more consultation with local authorities is needed.He told BBC Breakfast: "I think we will better negotiate what lies ahead of us in the autumn and winter if Government listens to local leaders - they know their communities."It wasn't just in Greater Manchester where they overruled us.