Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced a series of tighter lockdown restrictions in Bolton as part of new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the town.
Under the new restrictions, which were announced to MPs in the House of Commons this afternoon, all hospitality outlets – including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes – are now restricted to takeaway only, a curfew ordering venues to close at 10pm-5am has been put in place, and further measures that put the current guidance stating people cannot socialise outside their household into law.
Mr Hancock confirmed that the restrictions have been put in place “with immediate effect”.
It comes after it was stated that Bolton has seen a significant rise in cases – now up to 120 cases per 100,000 population – which is the highest infection rate of any borough in the country.
This is partly due to people socialising in their 20s and 30s, with a number of pubs being identified where the “virus has spread significantly”.
The following new restrictions will be put in place:
Restrict all hospitality to takeaway only.
All venues must close from 10pm to 5am.
No socialising outside households will be put into law.
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Mr Hancock said: “Unfortunately after improving for several weeks, we’ve seen a very significant rise in cases in Bolton. Bolton is up to 120 cases per 100,000 of population, the highest case rate in the country and I’m publishing the data behind the decisions that we’ve taken.
“I must therefore tell that House that, working with the local council, we’re taking further local action.
“The rise in cases in Bolton is partly due to socialising by people in their 20s and 30s. We know this from contact tracing, and through our contacting tracing system, we’ve identified a number of pubs at which the virus has spread significantly.
“We’re therefore taking the following action in Bolton starting immediately.
“We will restrict all hospitality to takeaways-only and we’ll introduce a late-night restriction of operating hours which will mean all venues will be required to close from 10pm to 5am.
“We’ll introduce urgently further measures that put the current guidance that people cannot socialise outside their household into law.”
Flickr
Matt Hancock added that visitor restrictions will also be put in place in care homes and hospitals.
He told MPs: “We’re also putting in place extra measures including visitor restrictions to restrict the spread of virus into care homes and hospitals in Bolton and I want to thank the leadership of Bolton Council who are doing an outstanding job in very difficult circumstances.”
Addressing people in Bolton directly, he continued: “And I want to say this to everybody directly living in Bolton – I know how anxious this can be, and I know the impact that these measures will have.
“We’re asking you to take a step back at a time when we all just want to get on with our lives and what we love and back to normal. But we need to take this crucial step to keep the virus at bay, because as we’ve seen elsewhere, if we act early and control the virus then we can save lives.”
“Now I know social distancing can be hard, and how it can be extra-tough for students who will be starting university – but please, stick with it and play your part in getting this virus under control.”
More information can be found via the Bolton Council website here.
News
Spanish journalist rubbishes reports of Barcelona debating ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early
Danny Jones
Spanish journalist Guillem Balagué has come out to rubbish reports that FC Barcelona have been considering ending Marcus Rashford’s loan deal early.
The well-known football reporter, who regularly works with the likes of Sky Sports, CBS Sports, BBC and more, is one of many to have publicly decried false claims made about the Manchester United loanee, who joined the La Liga giants at the start of this summer.
Barca themselves are also said to have quashed the rumours, with Balagué’s quotes having now been widely circulated online.
Speaking via X over the weekend, the 56-year-old put it simply: that the rumblings are nonsense, reassuring that the club have plenty of faith in his abilities.
Absolutely rubbish that Barcelona is planning to end up early @MarcusRashford loan deal
Barça told his representative that they have a lot of confidence in Rashford’s potential and that they believe he will recover as a top player
As you can see, the Catalan-born RCD Espanyol fan also chose to publicly align himself with former England footballer, Gary Lineker, who has suggested that a targeted and discriminatory narrative against Rashford has developed in recent years.
Though he didn’t state it verbatim, Balagué added: “No more to say, apart from the fact I agree with Gary Lineker and his treatment by some media.”
In case you were unaware of what he’s precisely referring to, Lineker said in a chat with the Man United forward on his The Rest Is Football podcast that he believes Rashford “wouldn’t face the same criticism if he was white.”
Having also made the move from Britain to Barcelona back in 1986 (spending a total of three seasons there), the 64-year-old knows plenty about adjusting from playing in one country to another.
You can see the interview in full here.
The interview was conducted shortly after Rashford’s loan deal was completed, and he had plenty to say about his boyhood team.
Responding to Balagué’s social media post, one commenter wrote: “This nonsense is coming from racist journalists in England who refuse to leave [Rashford] alone. They bullied him when he was in England, especially during times when he seemed unhappy.
“Now, these haters have followed him to Barcelona. Rashford is one of the kindest players in the world, but these clowns just won’t let him live his life in peace.”
It is worth noting, however, that the original reports in question and ultimately aggregated by media across Europe and here in the UK come from a domestic outlet, El Nacional.
While he is yet to rediscover the form of his peak years in United red at the Camp Nou, he is now entering what are traditionally seen as the ‘prime’ period in a footballer’s career and did show more positive signs on loan at Aston Villa during the second half of the previous campaign.
At 27, there is still plenty of time to turn things around; that being said, after being brought back into the national team and with his parent club holding an option to buy clause for around a reported £20 million, the question remains whether he will be returning to Old Trafford at the end of the term. Speaking of…
How Greater Manchester ranks as NHS ‘league tables’ are published for first time ever
Emily Sergeant
A ‘pioneering’ new system of league tables revealing the best and worst performing NHS Trusts has been published for the first time ever.
This marks a new era of ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’ in the NHS, with the league tables delivering on the Government’s promise to drive up standards, tackle variation in care, and ensure people get the high-quality service they rightly expect.
Every trust in England – from urgent and emergency care, through to elective operations and mental health services – will be ranked quarterly against ‘clear and consistent’ standards.
“This is not just about data, it’s about delivery,” the Government says.
Letting patients and the public access more data will help to drive improvement even faster. It will support them to identify where they should demand even better from their NHS.
Read more about the new league tables on overall performance for NHS services across England ⬇️ https://t.co/e8DYNakbfR
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures reveal that four out of five of England’s 134 ‘acute’ hospital trusts are considered to be failing.
Among the best-performing hospitals in the country was Manchester’s specialist Cancer hospital, The Christie, which was actually ranked in an impressive third place, while across Greater Manchester as a region, the highest ranked trusts were Tameside and Bolton, which came in 58 and 59 respectively on the list.
Manchester University Foundation Trust, in the heart of the city centre, came in 71st place.
The rest of the region’s trusts all came in the bottom half of the rankings – with Stockport at 86, Wigan at 92, and finally the Northern Care Alliance at 116.
NHS ‘league tables’ ranking every trust have been published for first time ever / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
Sadly, it was revealed that more than half of the 20 worst general hospitals are in the north of England, but it is London that dominates the top half of the table.
“These league tables will identify where urgent support is needed and allow high-performing areas to share best practises with others, taking the best of the NHS to the rest of the NHS,” explained Heath Secretary, Wes Streeting.
“We must be honest about the state of the NHS to fix it.
The Manc -
8th September 2020 
