‘Awful’ Northern Quarter premises shut down by police after hosting repeated ‘COVID parties’
The apartment, described by neighbours as an 'awful Airbnb party house', had allegedly hosted parties from Friday to Sunday until four in the morning right through lockdown.
Greater Manchester Police have swooped in to shut down a premises in Northern Quarter following a long-running series of ‘COVID parties’ that have kept residents awake throughout the night.
The apartment, described by neighbours as an ‘awful Airbnb party house’, had allegedly hosted gatherings from Friday to Sunday until four in the morning right through lockdown.
Anti-social behaviour has continued despite tighter restrictions in the Greater Manchester region, and police have now issued a closure notice – which can prohibit access to anyone except the legal owner and/or tenant.
YOU’VE BEEN SERVED! A Closure Notice has been served on a premises in the NQ that has allowed numerous COVID parties to take place, with residents and businesses having to deal with the associated ASB. Fantastic partnership working with ourselves and the Council ASBAT team. pic.twitter.com/FqkHSg5hVa
— Manchester City Centre Police (GMP) (@GMPCityCentre) August 25, 2020
GMP confirmed that the site had been shut down Tuesday (25 August) evening.
Posting on their official city centre Twitter account, police stated: “A Closure Notice has been served on a premises in the NQ that has allowed numerous COVID parties to take place, with residents and businesses having to deal with the associated ASB [anti-social behaviour].
ADVERTISEMENT
“Fantastic partnership working with ourselves and the Council ASBAT team.”
Mass gatherings and parties have persisted in Greater Manchester despite the ban on mass gatherings and meeting other households indoors or in gardens.
ADVERTISEMENT
Earlier this month, police shared footage of 200 people congregating at a property in Gorton – which was subsequently closed for three months as a result.
A fixed penalty notice was also issued to the tenant.
Huge ‘quarantine raves’ have also been organised in the likes of Daisy Nook and Carrington.
ADVERTISEMENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5qk5Yo3M_o
Under new legislation, police will have the power to issue fines up to £10,000 to the organisers of any illegal parties of more than 30 people.
Those in attendance without face coverings could also be hit with penalties of £100 – doubling up to £3,200 for each repeat offence.
News
UK set for another ‘potential’ heatwave next week after warmest June on record
Emily Sergeant
England could be heading towards another potential heatwave early next week, the Met Office has revealed.
While it’s obviously true that temperatures this week have returned to average for the time of year, bringing largely settled conditions for many, once next week rolls around, some parts of the country could be heating up once again – with the Met Office revealing what Greater Manchester residents should prepare for.
For the early part of next week, temperatures will definitely rise and perhaps reach what are considered heatwave conditions for some.
But if this is the case, the forecast suggests that it’s ‘unlikely’ to reach the high temperatures and humidity of last month’s heat, and the North West won’t be getting the worst of it.
The potential of next week’s heatwave comes after last month was officially declared the UK’s warmest June on record.
After a week of respite from the heat, high pressure moves in this weekend, dominating many southern and central areas for the next 10 days.
A defining feature of the month’s heatwave was the ‘exceptionally warm’ overnight temperatures, with frequent ‘tropical nights’ helping to drive the highest average June minimum temperatures on record.
Giving an insight into what’s to come as we head into the weekend, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, Tony Wisson, explained: “Toward the weekend, high pressure will continue to build in across most of the UK as it extends from the Azores. This will lead to more settled, warm or very warm conditions for many, especially across England and Wales, though some rain may still affect the far north.
“The forecast for this weekend suggests that temperatures could approach high 20s°C across parts of England, perhaps 30°C in parts of the southeast, with values of mid to high 20s°C in Wales.
“Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.”
Featured Image – Dmitry Zvolskiy (via Unsplash)
News
NHS to begin offering new one-minute jab to women with ‘aggressive’ form of cancer
Emily Sergeant
The NHS is set to begin offering new immunotherapy for hundreds of women with aggressive cervical cancer across the country.
Pembrolizumab – which experts have described as being able to ‘take the handbrake off’ the body’s immune system to target cancer – will now be presented as a new treatment option for women in England with locally-advanced cervical cancer, which means the cancer has grown beyond the cervix to regions such as the pelvic wall, but not yet spread further around the body.
Trials found that adding pembrolizumab to standard chemoradiotherapy helped keep cancer ‘at bay’ for longer, and improved survival rates overall.
Two years after starting the treatment, nearly seven in 10 patients (68%) were still living without their cancer progressing, compared with 57% for those receiving chemoradiotherapy alone, according to NHS figures.
The trial also found that 82.6% of patients were still alive three years after treatment with pembrolizumab and chemoradiotherapy, compared with 74.8% with chemoradiotherapy alone.
Hundreds of women with aggressive cervical cancer are to be offered a new immunotherapy treatment.
It marks one of the biggest improvements in treatment for the disease in years, and could help more women survive and stay cancer-free in the long term.
The drug is either given every three or siz weeks via an infusion, or as a ‘one-minute’ injection, alongside chemoradiotherapy.
The NHS estimates around 550 patients in England will be eligible for the treatment – which has been approved this week by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – over the next two years.
Patients will now receive fast-tracked access, funded by NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund.
“This is great news for women facing a diagnosis of aggressive cervical cancer, and represents one of the biggest improvements in treatment for this disease in recent years,” commented Professor Peter Johnson, who is the NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer.
“Combining this immunotherapy with existing treatment has had very positive effect for patients in trials, helping the body’s immune system to target cancer more effectively.
The Manc -
26th August 2020 
