Coronavirus infection rates in Greater Manchester remain well below the national average on the eve of remaining restrictions starting to be lifted.
From tomorrow (Thursday) the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test tracing will be removed as part of the government's 'living with Covid' plan. Although until April people who have or suspect they have the virus will still be advised to isolate.
Ahead of the move, the latest figures show the number of cases is continuing to fall in all boroughs in our region.
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And the borough with the highest rate in Greater Manchester, Stockport, is nearly 50 percent lower than the national average.
The borough recorded a rate of 288.2 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending February 19, according to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency.
That is markedly lower than the national average, which is 421.7 cases per 100,000 people.
The lowest infection rate is in Oldham, where the rate is 185.6 cases per 100,000 people.
In Greater Manchester as a whole, the infection rate is now 242.7 cases per 100,000 population.
A total of 6,883 people tested positive for coronavirus across Greater Manchester in the week which ended on February 19.
The Greater Manchester weekly total has decreased by 2870 cases compared to the previous week, which means the infection rate was down 29 percent in the last week..
The infection rate is lower than the national average in all ten local authorities in Greater Manchester.
Hospital admissions
In the week ending on February 13, a total of 425 patients were admitted to Greater Manchester NHS hospitals with Covid-19. That is 113 fewer than the week before, a fall of 36 percent.
On Tuesday February 15, there were 27 Mechanical Ventilation (MV) beds occupied by Covid patients in Greater Manchester NHS hospitals. That is two more than a week earlier.
This is the most recent available data for hospital admissions, the figures for NHS trusts are not updated daily.
Deaths
In the week ending February 19, a total of 42 people died within 28 days of a positive Covid test across Greater Manchester, which is 1 fewer than the week before.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 895,862 confirmed coronavirus cases in Greater Manchester. There has been a total of 8,737 deaths.
Cases reported in each of the ten boroughs
Rochdale
In Rochdale, the number of cases is down by 30 percent compared to the previous week - leaving the infection rate at 211.0 cases per 100,000 population.
There were 472 positive Covid-19 tests in Rochdale in the week ending February 19, which was 201 fewer than the previous 7 days.
Wigan
Wigan saw a total of 778 cases in the week ending February 19, which is 331 fewer than the previous week. That is a fall of 30 percent.
In Wigan, the most recent coronavirus infection rate is now 235.2 cases per 100,000 people.
Manchester
Manchester recorded 1446 coronavirus cases, which is 486 fewer than in the previous seven days.
The latest infection rate in Manchester is 260.2 cases per 100,000 people and that is down 25 percent week-on-week.
Oldham
Oldham, which has the lowest infection rate in the region, recorded 441 positive Covid-19 tests in the week ending February 19, which is 204 fewer than the previous 7 days.
The coronavirus infection rate in Oldham is now 185.6 cases per 100,000 people and is down by 32 percent week-on-week.
Trafford
There were 653 positive tests over the last week in Trafford, which is 317 fewer than in the previous week.
The week-on-week trend in Trafford is down by 33 per cent and the latest infection rate is 274.9 cases per 100,000 people.
Tameside
The trend is down in Tameside, where there were 562 positive Covid-19 tests in the week ending February 19, which is 202 fewer than the previous 7 days. That is down by 26 per cent compared to the previous week.
The latest infection rate in Tameside is 247.4 cases per 100,000 people, which is lower than the national average.
Bury
There was a fall of 30 percent in cases in Bury over the week ending February 19, and the infection rate is now 221.8 cases per 100,000 population.
Bury recorded 423 positive Covid-19 tests over the seven-day period, and that is 180 fewer than the previous week.
Bolton
Bolton is an area where the trend is down. The latest infection rate here is 195.7 cases per 100,000 people.
There were 564 cases recorded in Bolton, which is 365 fewer than the previous week - a fall of 39 percent.
Salford
In Salford, the latest infection rate is 264.9 cases per 100,000 people and the number of cases has gone down by 25 per cent.
A total of 696 people tested positive for Covid in Salford over the seven days ending on February 19, which is 233 fewer than the week before.
Stockport
In Stockport, there were 848 positive Covid-19 tests in the week ending February 19, which is 351 fewer than the previous 7 days.
Stockport has the highest infection rate in the region. The infection rate in Stockport is level slightly compared with the previous day but the week-on-week trend is down by 29 per cent.
