Manchester’s two main universities have confirmed that all in-person teaching will now move online as coronavirus (COVID-19) cases soar at the institutions.
It’s believed that the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University are set to inform staff and students of the move this afternoon after a decision by the city’s public health department, alongside Public Health England.
The institutions are to move teaching entirely online from tomorrow (Wednesday) until at least 30th October.
The council has said that courses at the two universities will be taught virtually, with the exception of “accredited and professional programmes, for on-campus laboratory, clinical and practice-based teaching”.
The move represents an escalation in the approach to rising coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on campus and among students.
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It comes as public health officials look to contain a host of outbreaks.
Manchester Metropolitan University
It is understood that the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) at the universities is still overwhelmingly related to accommodation facilities and not campus, but the move is being taken in an effort to limit those who may have the virus from travelling around and spreading it further.
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It comes after Manchester Metropolitan University had been the first of the two institutions to see high profile outbreaks a couple of weeks ago, which lead to students in the Birley and Cambridge halls of residence being told to self-isolate.
Hundreds more staff and student cases have been confirmed since then.
In a footprint used as part of the government’s community-level mapping of the virus, Fallowfield Central – a popular area of student residence – was showing the highest case numbers of any neighbourhood in the country yesterday.
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It racked up 558 new cases in the week up to 1st October.
David Regan – Director of Public Health at Manchester City Council – said: “This is the right thing to do and supports our approach using data and a local approach to contain outbreaks so that we reduce the possibility of further infection.
“More online teaching will protect staff, students and the wider community, which is what we want and need.
“As people will no doubt know from the news our current Covid figures are high – and in particular the rate of infection in the last seven days for our 17-21 year-old category is almost six times higher than in the rest of the community.
“Today’s announcement, plus following all our local restrictions means that we have a consistent approach.”
In response to an increase in the COVID-19 infection rate in Manchester and in line with our commitment to protect the health and well-being of our students, staff and the wider community, we be will increasing the level of online learning, from tomorrow. https://t.co/Y15nhVkiMh
— The University of Manchester (@OfficialUoM) October 6, 2020
The safety and wellbeing of our students, staff and wider communities remains our top priority.
We've taken this decision after meetings with reps from the local public health authorities and @ManCityCouncil to help minimise the risk of the spread of the virus in the city.
Mancunian has been named one of the ‘most attractive’ accents in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is, once again, celebrating what we already know – our accent is one of the “most attractive” in the UK.
In case you missed it, earlier this year, Manchester welcomed in 2023 with the news that our city’s accent had been named the “sexiest” the country has to offer – with a survey of 2,500 people by casino comparison site Best Casinos discovering that over half of respondents ranked it the most pleasing regional accent to the ear.
And now it turns out that that survey wasn’t a fluke, because a new study has called the Manchester accent one of the “most attractive” in the UK.
On a top 10 list compiled from the findings of a new survey of 2,000 people aged 18 to 55+ by online language tutoring service Preply, the Mancunian accent has claimed a pretty respectable fifth place.
But while there’s no doubt we can hold our heads high and be proud of claiming a spot in the top 10, this title does become a bit less impressive when you realise which other regional varieties have placed higher than us.
Mancunian has been named one of the ‘most attractive’ accents in the UK / Credit: Preply | Pexels
Fellow Northern accents Scouse and Geordie have taken second and third place on the list respectably, and the Welsh capital’s Cardiff accent rounding out the top five.
For us northerners, the grim reading continues when you learn that the London accent has clinched the top spot.
The Most Attractive Accents in the UK
London
Liverpool
Newcastle
Cardiff
Manchester
Glasgow
Birmingham
Bristol
Leeds
According to Preply, 21% of women survey respondents voted for the London accent as the most attractive in the UK, compared with just 15% of men, while 10.4% of the population picked the unique sound of the Liverpool accent as second best.
Only 8.7% of survey respondents considered the Mancunian accent to be the most attractive.
The results from this survey do, at least, go some way to shattering the findings from two surveys published last year that found the Manchester accent is considered to be one of the ‘least respected’ nationwide, especially in the corporate world of work, and that Northerners with strong accents are considered ‘less intelligent’.
Featured Image – Unknown
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The first bright yellow Bee Network bus has hit the streets of Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester residents will soon start to see bright yellow double decker buses travelling the region’s streets in the coming weeks.
With exactly six months to go before Greater Manchester “brings buses back under local control”, Mayor Andy Burnham has joined a number of other local leaders in unveiling the brand-new ‘Bee Network’ co-branded buses.
In what marks the biggest change to transport in Greater Manchester for almost 40 years, according to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), bus operator Diamond – which currently runs services in Bolton – has teamed up with Go North West to run the first franchised services in Wigan, Bolton, and parts of Salford and Bury from September this year.
Diamond has agreed to start transforming their buses into Bee Network ones from this week, with more set to appear on the roads every month.
The first bright yellow double decker bus has now hit the streets of Bolton, and is serving the number 8 route – which connects Bolton and Manchester city centre via Farnworth and Salford.
The Bee Network is coming in September.
But from April you might see some yellow buses out and about. 🚌
If one of your buses is now yellow, please contact your bus operator in the usual way if you need them. 👍 #GetOnBoard for more info 👇
— Transport for Greater Manchester 🚲🚶🏾♀️ (@OfficialTfGM) March 24, 2023
As already announced by TfGM and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), when franchising is officially introduced on 24 September 2023, 50 brand-new electric Bee Network buses will hit the streets on day one, alongside new ‘Euro VI’ vehicles, and dozens more co-branded buses from the existing fleet.
A further 50 electric buses will then be introduced onto the network in March 2024, which is when the second part of franchising starts.
All of the 270 new electric Bee Network buses will be fully accessible, with wheelchair bays, hearing induction loops, audio and visual announcement systems, and anti-slip flooring.
Mayor Andy Burnham said the first Bee Network bus entering service is “very much the start of our journey”, and added that the scheme will “ultimately deliver a greener, integrated and more inclusive transport system that will transform how people travel around our city-region.”
The first bright yellow Bee Network bus has hit the streets of Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM
Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt also called the first bus’s introduction onto the streets as “a further significant step” towards the integration of the Bee Network and the “transformation” of public transport and active travel in the region.
He continued: “From September we’ll also have dozens of new state-of-the-art buses serving passengers in Wigan, Bolton, and parts of Salford and Bury.
“These will be the first of many across Greater Manchester that will, alongside the new lower fares – which are already increasing ridership – and improvements to travel information, improve bus travel for everyone who lives and works here.”
The Manc -
6th October 2020 
