Covid-19 tracker shows rising case numbers in Wigan

The council's weekly statistics on the coronavirus show that between September 5 and September 11 there were 151 new cases identified in Wigan, a rate of 45.9 per 100,000.

The increasing infection rates have led to the borough's alert level being raised from green to amber.

The latest weekly figure is the largest new cases total recorded since mid-May, and a notable increase on the 89 from the previous week.

However, the Wigan rate is still the third-lowest in Greater Manchester, with only Trafford at 40.9 cases per 100,000 residents and Stockport with 44.6 having lower figures.

By contrast neighbouring Bolton has 189.9 cases per 100,000 people for the seven-day period.

St Helens and Warrington also have large numbers of new cases between September 5 and September 11, with rates of 84.2 and 101.4 respectively.

Wigan's rate is also lower than the regional one for the North West, which is 66.2 per 100,000 people, but higher than England’s at 30.3.

No deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in the borough in the most recent week.

At the same time NHS data running up to September 15 showed there had been no deaths involving the coronavirus in the borough's hospital trust since July 2.

The R rate for the North West, indicating whether the coronavirus epidemic is getting bigger or not, is currently between 1.1 and 1.3, an increase from the previous week.

Wigan Council said every case which had been escalated to the local track and trace team had been successfully managed as of September 14.