The Manc Asked: How do you feel about the new indoor ban?
In an attempt to understand the region's reaction to the new rules, we took to our social channels and asked our readers: Have your plans been altered in light of last night's announcement and how do you feel about it?
3/4 The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding to social distancing. So from midnight tonight, people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors in these areas. pic.twitter.com/Yy7wLbdh9V
Instead of waking up today with smiles on their faces and a giddy enthusiasm for the weekend, Mancs pulled back their covers with a groan, switched on the news, and tried to make sense of the garbled messages that had been broadcast the night before.
Sadly, it hadn’t all just been a bad dream. These rules are indeed being enforced, and the indoor ban is going ahead.
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Greater Manchester hasn’t looked this sad in the sunshine since Mario Mandzukic netted an extra-time winner for Croatia in the 2018 World Cup.
In an attempt to understand the region’s reaction to the new rules, we took to our social channels and asked our readers: Have your plans been altered in light of last night’s announcement and how do you feel about it?
This is what you said:
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Yes they have. I've been shielding since March, should have gone back to work on 3rd August,( I'm a self employed chiropodist, doing home visits!) now I can't. No idea when I'll be able to go back to work!
— jannette o'donnell (@stumpyfootgirl) July 31, 2020
Greater Manchester is not a happy place to be right now.
As shown in these responses, residents are overwhelmingly disappointed and frustrated by the new measures – which came into force less than three hours after being announced online.
Those living in parts of the borough with lower infection rates felt particularly aggrieved, as did many situated on the borders.
Some are still fuzzy on the rules.
More detail has since been published on the government website this morning (31 July), confirming that people can continue to go to work (providing social distancing is adhered to) but cannot meet with others outside of their household/bubble in any indoor premises – like a pub, restaurant or cafe.
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Lot of people asking for clarity on the Government’s announcement. Our understanding is:
▪️ no visitors to your home or garden from tonight
▪️you can go to the pub but stay within your household/bubble
The ban on gatherings covers gardens, too – a guideline to which many have reacted with confusion.
And the regulations come with a warning. Those who don’t adhere can be issued a £100 fine.
Mayor Andy Burnham has said the measures will be reviewed weekly. So, until we hear otherwise, it’s time to sit tight again.
Cheer up, Manchester. Tomorrow is another day that is (hopefully) closer to normality…
News
Every Greater Manchester borough to get 24-7 night bus services as part of Bee Network improvements
Emily Sergeant
Every borough of Greater Manchester is set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy.
Widespread improvements are coming to bus services across the whole region are coming later this year, as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has today (Thursday 18 March) announced 36 service changes in total – many of which are said to be the ‘most significant’ and ‘wide-ranging’ upgrades the Bee Network has seen since bus franchising was completed early last year.
The announcement comes after the Mayor gave a major update yesterday on plans to deliver a ‘decade of good growth’ in Greater Manchester, backed by at least £500 million of investment from the National Wealth Fund, taking the GM Good Growth Fund to almost £2 billion.
The Bee Network insists this raft of new changes have ‘only been made possible’ by bringing buses back under local control.
As mentioned, the most major improvement is set to be the introduction 24-hour night buses throughout Greater Manchester – with five new night buses launched to bring a 24-hour service to parts of the region that haven’t previously had them, like Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford.
Every Greater Manchester borough is set to get 24-7 night bus services / Credit: TfGM
It’s hoped around 625,400 people in jobs that operate late into the night, as well as those enjoying everything the region’s nightlife has to offer, can get home safely.
Some of the other changes announced include a selection of brand-new bus services, more frequent buses during the day and at the weekends, and overall better connections to key employment and leisure destinations like Manchester Airport, Trafford Centre, MediaCity, Middlebrook Retail Park, Kingsway Business Park, and Logistics North.
“These changes will benefit people right across Greater Manchester,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham.
“They have come about as a direct result of your feedback and support for the Bee Network and have been made possible by the decision we took to bring our buses back under local control.
“By expanding Bee Network night buses to every borough, and providing more frequent services to key employment locations, we are creating more ways for people to access jobs and opportunities across the region.
“This is just the start. As we continue to lead the way on economic growth, so will we continue to lead the way on transforming the Bee Network, setting us up for another decade of good growth so that everyone in Greater Manchester can live a good life.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
‘Deeply worrying’ figures reveal one in seven NHS staff were physically attacked last year
Emily Sergeant
The NHS is ‘deeply worried’ after figures revealed one in seven staff were attacked by a patient or member of the public last year.
According to the latest NHS staff survey, 14.47% – which works out to almost one in seven staff members – were physically attacked by a patient or the public in the last year, which sadly works out to be the highest rate for three years.
On top of this, the shocking statistics also saw a record percentage of staff say they were subjected to ‘unwanted’ sexual behaviour, rising steeply to almost one in three ambulance staff (31%).
It also found that nearly one in 10 staff (9.26%) said they were subjected to discrimination from patients and the public, which is the highest on record.
The 2025 NHS Staff Survey results are now published.
Thank you to all NHS staff who took the time to share their experiences.
The survey helps us understand what’s working well and where improvements can be made.
Presumably because of figures like this, the survey revealed that the number of staff who would recommend their workplace to others fell slightly to 58.05% in 2025, which is down from 60.79% last year in 2024.
“These figures paint a deeply worrying picture of the abuse our hardworking NHS staff face,” commented Danny Mortimer, who is the Director General (People) for NHS England.
“Staff safety and wellbeing is paramount, and we want everyone experiencing any kind of unwanted incident to feel confident enough to report it. But while that behaviour is completely unacceptable, we must look at what more we can do to support the people who keep our services running.
‘Deeply worrying’ figures reveal that one in seven NHS staff were physically attacked last year / Credit: rawpixel
“We know about the everyday pressures staff face and we haven’t moved fast enough to fix them.
“Staff have worked so hard to improve NHS performance and deliver care over winter as shown in the latest performance figures. These survey results show it is now for the NHS to deliver improvements for staff because there is so much more to do to make the NHS a better place to work.”
However, despite all of this, an overwhelming 87.78% of respondents did say they felt their job ‘made a difference’ to patients.
As mentioned, all of these statistics have been revealed as part of the latest NHS staff survey, where more than 766,000 workers in England responded – providing what is said to be ‘vital data’ for employers and stakeholders about the staff experience.
The Manc -
31st July 2020 
