An increase in social mixing is believed to be behind a jump in coronavirus cases in Trafford, council bosses have said.
Rates spiked by 45pc to 141.1 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending December 16, according to data from Public Health England.
In the week ending December 17, cases were up 39pc to 147 cases per 100,000 people.
It prompted concerns that the spike may be due to the new fast-spreading variant of the virus which has been detected in recent days.
But council bosses said the rise was in fact thought to be due to an 'increase in social mixing across the borough'.
A spokesman for the council said cases started to rise in Trafford when the lockdown ended.
They urged people to reduce contact with others in order to curb the spread of the virus.
A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “Trafford Council, like most other authorities in the country, is seeing a recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
"The cases began to go up when lockdown ended and have continued to rise.
"We are putting the rise down to an increase in social mixing across the borough.
“We would like to please remind everyone to follow Government rules, keep socially distanced and to reduce contact with others, even those in the same household.
"You should also continue washing your hands regularly and keep windows open when you are indoors. We urge everyone to continue to follow the rules – being more safe now will save lives in the future.”
