Our weekly round-up of coronavirus news - 8 April
DATA regarding the case rates, hospital occupancy and vaccinations has been released by GMCA today.
Sir Richard Leese addressed the press via a pre-recorded video which is now available via the GMCA Twitter feed.
Sir Richard's take-home message was: "The progress we have made could easily be lost if people think 'ok, the problem's all over.' Getting that second vaccination is really important to keep us on the right trajectory to make sure that we are able to start returning life to something like normal."
Case rates
The overall case rate for Greater Manchester was 63.5 cases per 100,000 population up to the end of last week, as opposed to nearly 92 cases the previous week
"These figures are all on a downward trajectory. Every single place has come down since a week ago... putting us into a far better position,” said Sir Richard Leese.
The UK average is around 39. None of the 10 GM boroughs is below the national average.
Again Trafford has the lowest rate at 47.2 while Bolton, Oldham and Tameside all remain relatively high with figures over 70.
Vaccines
There have been 1,262,248 first doses of vaccine delivered as of yesterday (7 April).
The BBC reports that 5000 doses of the Moderna vaccine are to be sent to Greater Manchester's mass vaccination centre at the Etihad campus next week. This follows some reports of a tiny increase in the chance of blood clotting regarding the Astra Zeneca vaccines in younger people.
The family of a Warrington man who died of a blood clot after receiving his first dose of the Astra Zeneca vaccine are urging the public to continue getting their jabs. Neil Astles is the first British person suspected to have died from the rare side effect. The Government has said that it will offer people under 30 an alternative inoculation to the Astra Zeneca shot where possible.
Over 30 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine nationwide.
Hospitals
Hospital admissions have reduced again, with 34 people admitted with COVID-19 over the last week. Add to this the 69 in-patient diagnoses and the total of 104 people newly in hospital with the disease represents a decrease of around a third from the week before.
The total number of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID-19 is 219. Around a quarter of these are in intensive care or high dependency beds. ICU capacity is being utilised at 66% so elective surgery can now go ahead and plans for clearing the backlog are in motion.
"We did have blip a week ago for admissions. We are now back on trend," said Sir Richard.
Support
Thousands of people across Greater Manchester forced to self-isolate have been denied £500 coronavirus test and trace support payments. Andy Burnham has previously been very vocal in urging the Government to provide support for people who have to self isolate. While the payment is administered by councils, the criteria have been designed by the Government and are said to be "very strict". Around 41% of people have been turned down after applying for the payment.
