Indoor gatherings in Wigan and other areas in the North banned for another week

Rules imposed last week to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which covered the whole of Greater Manchester, as well as parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire, will remain in place for another week.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, in collaboration with local leaders, decided the restrictions should continue as the latest data does not show evidence of a decrease in the number of cases per 100,000 people.

Preston will be be added to the list of areas included in the ban on households gathering in each other’s homes and gardens, effective from midnight.

The restrictions on gatherings will be reviewed again next week with any changes to be announced by Friday, August 14.

Mr Hancock said: “The past week has been difficult for many people in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and east Lancashire, and I thank everyone in these areas for their patience and willingness to follow the rules.

“Yesterday I chaired a meeting of the Local Action Gold Committee, and unfortunately, the data does not yet show a decrease in the transmission of this terrible virus. It means we must keep the current restrictions in place to allow more time for the impact of this ban on indoor gatherings to be felt, and make sure local residents and their loved ones are protected. At the request of the local area we are also extending these restrictions to Preston.

“We are constantly examining the data on the prevalence of the virus in these areas and we will review the measures again next week.

“As we continue to see rising rates of the virus across Europe, it is vital we take every precaution to protect our country. I urge everyone in these areas to follow the rules, get yourself a free test as soon as you get any symptoms, and isolate if NHS Test and Trace tells you to.”

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and other leaders in the region have agreed that the local lockdown restrictions should continue but urged the Government to improve the test and trace system.

A Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) spokesman said: “The Mayor of Greater Manchester and leaders agreed on Wednesday that the heightened restrictions should continue in the city-region for another week.

“Alongside the continued measures, Greater Manchester will be taking further action locally over the next seven days. Targeted enforcement will be taking place, such as mystery shoppers visiting pubs and restaurants to ensure they are complying and taking down customer’s details.

“We will also continue to focus on communicating direct and simple messaging to the public, especially with younger people, to make sure it is clear there should be no social visits to homes while these restrictions remain in place.

“However, we also need Government to improve the test and trace system. Ministers must ensure people have the financial support to be able to immediately self-isolate and we need under-utilised national centre staff urgently redeployed to local areas.”