Greater Manchester Police receive over 1,000 reports of Covid-19 breaches

Police in Greater Manchester received over 1,000 reports of Covid-19 breaches last weekend.

New legislation published by the Government last week imposed additional restrictions on socialising in indoor spaces and allows police by law to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to anyone who breaches the regulations.

Last weekend, between Friday 7 - Sunday 9 August, Greater Manchester Police received 1,106 reports of Covid-19 breaches - a 25% increase on the previous weekend.

The warning from police to follow legislation comes after residents in Oldham were told they need to act now to stop a local lockdown being imposed in the town.

The latest figures for the week ending 8 August show Oldham had 255 new cases of coronavirus, with a rate of 107.5 cases per 100,000 people.

The week prior to this, there were 137 cases, which is a rate of 57.8 per 100,000. When Government imposed a local lockdown on Leicester, their cases were at 135 per 100,000.

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Of the breaches reported to Greater Manchester Police last weekend, 540 were reports of house gatherings and parties and a further 48 reports of licensed premises breaching the restrictions.

Police say they attended 40 of these incidents and arrested 10 people and also issued 11 FPNs.

GMP is urging people to follow the new regulations and keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

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Assistant Chief Constable and Chair of the Local Resilience Forum Nick Bailey, said: "Coronavirus doesn’t discriminate – absolutely anyone can get ill whether you’re old or young and it’s imperative that we continue to treat this situation seriously and adhere to the rules in order to reduce infection rates. Even though you may not suffer serious symptoms yourself, by breaching the regulations which are put in place for public safety, you could end up spreading the infection to loved ones who may not be so fortunate.

“I would like to remind people to please take note of the new regulations and not meet up with members from other households in indoor spaces. We will continue to engage with the public and explain the new legislation, encouraging people to take personal responsibility for their safety and the safety of others, but where people continually flout the rules, we will act."

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With A-level results due to be published tomorrow, ACC Nick Bailey urged those receiving their results to be mindful of the new regulations:

“I understand that A-level results are coming out this week and people will rightly want to celebrate. However, please be mindful of the COVID regulations in your celebrations as we do not want to spoil what should be a joyous occasion by issuing FPNs at any house parties or illegal gatherings. It is worth noting that recent spikes in Greater Manchester which lead to the additional restrictions were centred around house parties with 17/18 year olds."

And while Greater Manchester Police say the majority of people have been following the guidance across the 10 boroughs, they say the behaviour of those flouting the rules is "utterly unacceptable".

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