Rising COVID cases could ripple across North West, say experts

Health bosses across the North West are warning that rising COVID cases across some parts of the region could spark a domino effect in surrounding areas.

Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen now have the two highest rates of COVID anywhere in the UK.

Bolton's infection rate currently stands at 192.3 cases per 100,000 people, more than doubling in the space of a week.

In Blackburn with Darwen, the infection rate there is 100.2 cases per 100,000 people, which is also double what it was a week ago.

Englands' average current COVID rate is 21.9 cases per 100,000 people.

The surge in cases is being blamed on outbreaks of the new Indian COVID variant, which early estimates suggest is up to 50% more transmissible than the 'Kent' variant which currently makes up the vast majority of cases in the UK.

Although experts also stress they do not currently believe that the Indian variant has any mutations that could make the coronavirus vaccines less effective.

Experts are now concerned, however, that the current rise in cases across some areas could start to have a knock-on effect on neighbouring areas.

Professor Kate Ardern is the Public Health Director for Wigan and works across the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, she said:

"I think our concern, of course, is we are facing a very similar situation to last September."

"If you recall, in the second week of September last year, Bolton saw a similar escalating spike and of course that led to the second wave of the pandemic going across the whole of Greater Manchester."

"We are seeing signs in our own figures, they are up-ticking."

"We're also seeing signs in other parts of Greater Manchester that other boroughs are seeing an uptick in their figures too. Obviously, this a little bit concerning."

Professor Ardern also said the situation was already begging to escalate across some other parts of the region:

"Runshaw College in Lancashire has had to close because they've had 30 cases."

"They have a very wide catchment area that covers Bolton, Wigan and St Helens as well as parts of Lancashire and there's an outbreak in Sefton as well."

"So, although the Indian variant might have started as travel-related in a number of cases, it's now gone beyond that, we are starting to see community transmission."

"That hand hygiene, those face coverings and all sorts of good infection prevention control measures are even more important."

"Colleagues in Bolton have set up things like the surge testing going on in a number of the areas that are particularly affected."

"My message is, please don't take your foot off the gas just yet."

"We clearly have a very significant situation in Bolton. and clearly, viruses don't respect boundaries, they come across boundaries carried by people."

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