Covid could leave Greater Manchester's future in ruins - with warning that 'things are about to get worse'

Improving Greater Manchester's equality in comparison to other areas of the country could be a casualty of the pandemic, says Greater Manchester's lead public health director.

Levelling up - the government's plan to 'spread social and economic opportunity more equally across the UK - is being put at risk by continued high levels of transmission in the region.

Without a further government strategy pledging investment and support for a whole range of health services, crippled by the demands of the pandemic, Greater Manchester cannot hope to progress - but such a plan remains to be seen, claims the public health chief, Professor Kate Ardern.

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Greater Manchester continues to have some of the highest rates of infection - even with a significant degree of 'under-reporting where people do not register positive lateral flow tests as people no longer have to take confirmatory PCRs'.

Without getting high levels of transmission under control, hopes of 'levelling up' will be in doubt, says Professor Ardern.

"Undoubtedly, I think we will need to be pressing government for the support packages for and we won't be the only area,” she told the Manchester Evening News , in an exclusive interview.

“This ties back into the levelling up agenda. Being an area of enduring transmission for Covid really risks a lot of the intentions of levelling up.

“I think it's really important to link our living safely with Covid plans with our ambitions around levelling up. They won't be met if we are continuing in a cycle of high Covid transmission."

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