'Omicron is a big sting in the tail', warns public health boss, as Burnham calls for free tests to stay

Omicron is ‘a big sting in the tail’, a Manchester public health boss has warned. The caution comes as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham called on the government to continue providing free tests beyond the end of the month.

Coronavirus rates are climbing across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester, with Manchester borough Director of Public Health, David Regan, saying figures are now reaching ‘very, very high levels’ for the first time since Omicron swept the country at the end of 2021 and the New Year. The uptick in case numbers is already ‘seeing real impacts on staff absence’ and ‘care home outbreaks’, added the public health chief.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Mayor is pleading with the government to extend supplies of free lateral flow testing kits beyond March 31. The absence of testing will leave health leaders ‘without data’ to accurately judge the scale of the coronavirus wave ‘we are now in’.

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Trafford continues to have the highest coronavirus infection rate in Greater Manchester. The borough recorded a rate of 738.7 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending March 17, according to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency.

In Greater Manchester as a whole, the infection rate is now 504.1 cases per 100,000 population. The infection rate in the region is lower than the national average, which is 801.6 cases per 100,000 people.

A total of 14,296 people tested positive for coronavirus across Greater Manchester in the week which ended on March 17. The Greater Manchester weekly total has increased by 4924 cases compared to the previous week, which means the infection rate was up 53 per cent in