Bolton drops further down coronavirus infection rates table

Bolton now has the 20th highest infection rate in the country after the borough's rate continued to fall and rates around the rest of the country continue to rise.

The town had for many weeks being recording the highest infection rate in the country due to the spread of the Delta variant in late-April and early-May, however, this has now been brought under control with infection rates coming down.

• Call to end Scottish travel ban as Bolton couple £2,000 out of pocket for wanting to see grandkids

A combination of work by the local public health teams, CCG, NHS, with support from countless volunteers and even the military helped push a surge testing and vaccination programme which contributed to the town's infection rates starting to fall at a fast rate.

Volunteers at Tonge Moor Health Centre where the first covid vaccine in Bolton was administered

Only Stockport (204.8) has also seen its infection rates decrease in recent weeks, according to Public Health England, with the rest of the Greater Manchester region seeing their cases increase significantly.

In the seven days to June 20, Bolton recorded 708 new positive cases of Covid-19, equalling an infection rate of 246.2 new positive cases per 100,000 residents.

An electronic notice board in Bolton town centre

This is a significant fall from the previous seven days, to June 13, where the town recorded 826 new cases at a rate of 287.3 per 100,000.

Manchester (383.5), Bury (339.3), Salford (335.7), Wigan (317.7), Trafford (266.3), and Rochdale (254), have all seen their infection rates rise above Bolton's in the last few weeks, and are continuing to rise.

Members of the Armed Forces at a mobile Covid-19 vaccination centre outside Bolton Town Hall

Blackburn with Darwen (515.7) is still recording the highest rate of infection in the country, despite a recent fall in cases.

Greater Manchester infection rates

From left to right: name of local authority; rate of new cases in the seven days to June 20; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to June 20; rate of new cases in the seven days to June 13; number (in brackets) of new cases recorded in the seven days to June 13.

Manchester, 383.5, (2120), 330.1, (1825)

Bury, 339.3, (648), 292.2, (558)

Salford, 335.7, (869), 332.6, (861)

Wigan, 317.7, (1044), 249.2, (819)

Trafford, 266.3, (632), 198.9, (472)

Rochdale, 254.0, (565), 210.0, (467)

Bolton, 246.2, (708), 287.3, (826)

Oldham, 238.3, (565), 184.7, (438)

Tameside, 232.2, (526), 174.8, (396)

Stockport, 204.8, (601), 212.7, (624)