Bolton's coronavirus infection rates have risen sharply again.
The area's infection rate now stands at 160.7 cases per 100,000 people, according to data released by Public Health England this afternoon (September 10).
This figure is up from yesterday's number, when Bolton had 130 positive coronavirus cases per 100,000.
The borough continues to have the highest infection rate in the country - far above England's average of 27.2 cases per 100,000.
Bolton's figures are now well beyond the infection rates recorded for the borough at the height of the pandemic in April.
Across Greater Manchester, all but three boroughs are now on 'red alert', a government label put in place after infection rates pass 50 cases per 100,000.
Skyrocketing cases have prompted a strict local lockdown in Bolton after Health Secretary Matt Hancock blamed the rise on 'people in their 20s and 30s' socialising.
The MP said contact tracing had pinpointed outbreaks to several pubs in Bolton.
It is believed 75 per cent of Bolton's Covid 19 cases concern people aged between 18 and 39.
One 23-year-old Bolton resident has been handed a £1,000 fine for a 'flagrant' breach of quarantine after returning from a sunshine break in Ibiza and hosting a party.
The new lockdown rules include:
- All hospitality for food and drink (restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs) will be restricted to takeaway only
- Late night restriction of operating hours meaning all venues, including takeaways, will be required to close between from 10pm to 5am
- A ban on mixing outside households in public outdoor settings
- Additional restrictions on visitors at care homes in the borough
The news of another spike in cases comes as Greater Manchester Police has deployed more officers to enforce the lockdown.
The force has diverted extra officers to help local cops in Bolton, Bury and Wigan to stop 'lockdown tourists' - residents so intent on going to the pub that they travel over the border to enjoy more relaxed rules.
Additional patrols will also start where the sole task is to respond to reports of lockdown breaches.
