Nearly half of care homes in Greater Manchester have reported outbreaks of coronavirus.
There were 254 suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in care homes in Greater Manchester between March 9 and May 10.
Government data shows that 45pc of the 566 care homes in our area have had cases of the virus.
There were seven new suspected or confirmed outbreaks in care homes in the area in the week ending May 10.
That was down from 11 newly reported the week before, and down from a peak of 66 reports in the week ending April 12.
Across England, a total of 5,546 suspected or confirmed coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in care homes.
In our region, Wigan had the highest number with 64pc of residential homes reporting cases, followed by Tameside with 58pc and Oldham with 57pc.
Rochdale had the lowest rate with 36pc of care homes reporting outbreaks.
This data comes from reports to Public Health England (PHE) of infectious disease outbreaks in residential and nursing homes.
A care home will only be included in the dataset once and if a care home has reported more than one outbreak, only the first is included in those figures - it’s not possible to know from the data if the reported outbreaks are still ongoing.
In the week ending May 10, 418 new outbreaks were reported - that was a drop from 699 a week before.
However, while most regions saw falls, in the South East, the number of suspected or confirmed outbreaks being reported rose from 103 to 118
Care homes in the North East appear to have been hardest hit by Covid-19 - nearly half (48PC) have reported an outbreak.
That compares to a quarter in the South West.
Here are the figures for each borough of Greater Manchester based on PHE data:
Bolton
Total number of cases: 21
Percentage of care homes with cases: 37pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 0
Bury
Total number of cases: 22
Percentage of care homes with cases: 39pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 0
Manchester
Total number of cases: 36
Percentage of care homes with cases: 39pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 1
Oldham
Total number of cases: 25
Percentage of care homes with cases: 57pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 0
Rochdale
Total number of cases: 21
Percentage of care homes with cases: 36pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 2
Salford
Total number of cases: 20
Percentage of care homes with cases: 44pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 0
Stockport
Total number of cases: 31
Percentage of care homes with cases: 48pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 0
Tameside
Total number of cases: 22
Percentage of care homes with cases: 58pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 1
Trafford
Total number of cases: 21
Percentage of care homes with cases: 37pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 2
Wigan
Total number of cases: 35
Percentage of care homes with cases: 64pc
New cases in week ending May 10: 1
Greater Manchester has developed it's own hospital-style alert system for care homes in response to the crisis.
It was drawn up in the space of a week in April and was designed to flag any potential concerns around coronavirus outbreaks and PPE shortages.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said in his most recent weekly press conference he was watching the situation 'incredibly closely'.
Separate figures released by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last week show that nearly 500 care home residents in the region have died after contracting coronavirus.
Drop a heart on our special map of gratitude to show your support for our NHS heroes
To keep up with the latest breaking news and information on Covid-19 and the lockdown, and for things to do while you are staying in, join our dedicated coronavirus Facebook group.
