A ``strengthened package of support'' will be provided for Greater Manchester and Lancashire to tackle a rise in the Delta variant of coronavirus

Health secretary Matt Hancock said the Government was providing a strengthened package of support'' to tackle the rise in the Delta variant.

He told MPs in the Commons: I can tell the House that today working with local authorities, we are providing a strengthened package of support based on what's working in Bolton, to help Greater Manchester and Lancashire tackle the rise in the Delta variant that we're seeing there.

This includes rapid response teams, putting in extra testing, military support and supervised in school testing. I want to encourage everyone in Manchester and Lancashire to get the tests on offer.

We know that this approach can work, we've seen it work in south London and in Bolton in stopping a rise in the number of cases.

This is the next stage of tackling the pandemic in Manchester and in Lancashire, and of course it's vital that people in these areas - as everywhere else - come forward and get the jab as soon as they're eligible because that is our way out of this pandemic together.''

The Delta variant of Covid-19 was first identified in India.

It comes after former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said any delay to England's road map for easing lockdown would only be for a couple of weeks owing to the success of the vaccination programme.