Good Morning Britain's Dr Hilary was asked if local lockdowns could be reinstated on Thursday's show following growing concerns over the Indian coronavirus variant.
Bolton currently has the second highest coronavirus infection rate in the country and the highest number of cases linked to the Indian variant.
Discussing the surge in cases, ITV's resident doctor said: "There is potential for this to hold back further easing of lockdown restrictions in June, so it is being taken very seriously by Sage."
Dr Hilary was then asked about the likelihood of local lockdowns returning to the UK in the future by Ben Shephard.
The presenter questioned: "If there's a surge in Bolton, could you see the government turning around and saying, 'actually we're going to back go back to local lockdown to combat areas'?"
"Yes, it is possible," Dr Hilary said.
Adding: "What I think we do know is that again aviation has played a part in this.
"We think that people travelling back from India before it was on the red list, and travelling via Turkey to avoid direct flights, may have brought this into the country.
"So again, the aviation industry needs further help in preventing that kind of thing happening.
"But 727 cases identified, that's spread really quickly and that's a worry."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
