The ten Directors of Public Health for Greater Manchester have today issued a joint statement asking anyone who has travelled to the city-region from any Tier 4 area or Wales to act “as if they have the new variant of COVID-19 and self-isolate for at least ten days when they arrive“.
The ten days should start from Saturday 19th December.
This means remaining inside the house where they’re staying for the whole ten days.
The statement confirms that tther people who live in the house do not need to self isolate – unless anyone gets symptoms – but no visitors should be allowed in that house at all, even on Christmas Day.
Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy – Director of Public Health in Tameside – said: “The new strain of COVID – which is increasingly rapidly in Tier 4 areas – is extremely worrying. It is incredibly infectious and if you come in to contact with someone with this strain you are far more likely to catch it than the original strain.
“We are so concerned about the potential grave impact of this that we have taken the difficult decision to ask anyone who has travelled here for Christmas from any Tier 4 area or Wales to act as if they have this new variant, even if they have no symptoms, and self-isolate for at least ten days.
Other people in the house do not need to self isolate but no visitors should be allowed in that house at all, even on Christmas Day.”
⚠️Greater Manchester's Directors of Public Health are asking anyone who has travelled to the city-region from any Tier 4 area or Wales to self-isolate for at least ten days when they arrive ⚠️
She continued: “We are asking people to follow the same rules households have done when school children have been asked to isolate after coming in contact with someone who is positive. The individual is the only one who needs to isolate, but if, during that time, anyone in the house gets symptoms, they must all isolate and the person with symptoms get a test straight away.
“In addition we’re asking every single person in Greater Manchester to take extreme care from this moment on.
“You can minimise your chances of catching Covid – even the new strain – by scrupulously sticking to the guidance around keeping at least two metres away from people at all times, wearing a face covering, washing your hands frequently and staying in well ventilated places.
“If you’re inside this means having the windows open for at least 15 to 20 minutes every hour.
“We know so many people have been doing their bit for so long, and we know everyone desperately wishes we could see an end to the restrictions, but it’s more important than ever that we all put in that extra effort to keep our friends and families safe in the coming weeks.”
This is a BREAKING NEWS story – More to follow.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Drinks prices for Manchester Oasis gigs announced – and you’ll be pleasantly surprised
Daisy Jackson
The prices of drinks at Heaton Park for the five huge Manchester Oasis shows have been released in advance.
With the Gallagher brothers reuniting on stage in their hometown for the first time this weekend (and then again next week), it’s a huge moment for our city.
Those lucky enough to snag tickets have already forked out a small fortune to witness this moment in history (still scarred from the dynamic pricing debacle).
And most of us were probably bracing to spend another small fortune on beers at the Oasis Manchester gigs.
But you might be pleasantly surprised at the drinks prices up at Heaton Park for Oasis Live ’25.
It’s now been confirmed that pints of lager and cider will be just £6.50.
Before you turn your nose up, remember that pints at our two arenas – the AO Arena and Co-op Live are now sitting around the £9 mark.
Prices for other drinks, like wine and spirits, we’ll have to wait until Friday to see.
Heaton Park will also be the home of the ‘largest beer garden’ and the longest bars in the city for the Oasis reunion.
With a major heatwave predicted for the first shows, fans are being encouraged to stay hydrated (on WATER, not beer, please).
Ticket-holders will be allowed to bring a sealed bottle of water up to 500ml in with you, but it must be collapsible plastic.
Solid plastic and metal containers will be rejected on safety grounds.
There’s a free water point on site where you can fill up your bottles again.
Oasis will perform at Heaton Park in Manchester on 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20 July.
Dates announced as resident doctors prepare to stage strikes this month
Emily Sergeant
Resident doctors in England have voted to stage strike action over pay, and the dates for the industrial action have now been confirmed.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says doctors have ‘spoken clearly’ after the results of a vote published today revealed that 90% of resident doctors have voted in favour of a potential return to industrial action.
It comes after the ballot – which ran from 27 May until 7 July – saw a turnout of 55% members, with almost 30,000 (29,741) votes cast.
26,766 of those votes endorsed the use of strike action as part of efforts to restore pay, while just under 3,000 voted against it.
The result means that resident doctors have now secured a fresh mandate to stage industrial action when they choose from now until January 2026.
BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs, Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt, said that, while no doctor took the possibility of striking lightly, a clear majority of members felt that they had ‘no other choice’ given the ongoing failures to restore pay.
They added that Health Secretary Wes Streeting has the power to ‘make the right decision’ on pay, and urged the Government to return to negotiations ‘as soon as possible’.
It’s now been confirmed that resident doctors will stage a full walk out from 7am on Friday 25 July until 7am on Wednesday 30 July.
These upcoming strikes come after resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors, until 2024 – in England participated in an unprecedented 11 rounds of strike action after negotiations with the previous Conservative Government over restoring pay repeatedly stalled.
“Doctors have spoken and spoken clearly – they won’t accept that they are worth a fifth less than they were in 2008,” the committee co-chairs said. “Our pay may have declined but our will to fight remains strong.
“Doctors don’t take industrial action lightly, but they know it is preferable to watching their profession wither away.
“The next move is the Government’s – will it repeat the mistakes of its predecessor? Or will it do the right thing and negotiate a path to full pay restoration and the restoration of doctors’ confidence in our profession’s future?”
The Manc -
21st December 2020 
