SALFORD ENTERS THE VIRUS RED ZONE WITH ECCLES IDENTIFIED AS A HOT-SPOT

New data has revealed that Salford has now entered what is termed the 'Red Zone' for Coronavirus infections by the Government as it's infection rate topped the 50 per 100,000 people threshold at 51.4.

The City has hovered in the Amber zone for several weeks but a steady rise in infections has now pushed Salford over the limit and into the Red.

Eccles has been identified as a local hot-spot with fifteen new cases in the period between 26th Aug - 1st Sep.

These new cases come ahead of a planned increase in testing via a trial of a community saliva testing planned to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

Although concerning it should be noted that at present the death rate across the UK still remains low comparatively, although this may change due to the delay in new cases and those that go on to require hospitalisation and intubation. 

This latest information means that Salford now joins Bolton and Oldham as the third Greater Manchester borough to enter the Red Zone, with the possibility of further restrictions being enforced.

Bolton has the highest rate by far with a staggering 104.3 infections per 100,000 people - (over double the threshold and that of Salford), which now places the borough as having not only the highest rate in the region but also across the whole country.

People living in the town have had more restrictions placed upon them and are no longer permitted to mix with people outside of their own households and have been told that they should only use public transport if essential. 

Up to 90% of the infections in Bolton are from people between the ages of 18-49 years old.

Salford will now have to see a drop in the infection rate if it wants to prevent further restrictions similar to those in Bolton.