GREATER Manchester will come together today to pay tribute to all the people from across the region who have died from coronavirus.

A Remembrance Service is to be held at Manchester Cathedral at 11am which will be attended by NHS staff, carers and civic leaders.

Only a small number of people have been invited to the event due to social-distancing guidelines.

However, the service will be available to watch online via a live stream.

In total more than 500 people have died at Pennine Acute Trust Hospitals, which includes Fairfield General Hospital in Bury, have tragically lost their lives to the virus since the start of the pandemic ­­— all of whom will be a forefront of people's thoughts and tributes today.

Among those from Bury who will be remembered today is much-loved GP Dr Saad Al-Dubbaisi.

The 59-year-old doctor, who worked at Garden City Medical Centre in Holcombe Brook, had battled the infection for five weeks before his death in May.

Speaking at the time of Dr Saad's funeral, Dr Jeff Schryer, chairman of Bury NHS clinical commissioning group, said: “He was a very important part of that practice family.

"He will be very much missed by his staff and patients.

“It’s a very sad day. He was part of the Bury community, part of the Bury family and he’ll be sadly missed by all of us.”

Another friend, Amira Al-Abadi, described Dr Saad as 'a great man with a very kind heart and beautiful soul', who 'will be greatly missed and forever remembered for his dedication to his family and his work'.

Also among those to have lost their fight with Covid-19 was popular taxi driver Suliman Khan.

Mr Khan was described as 'an extremely caring and kind man', who would 'always lend a hand to others and reach out to them when they were in need'.

Today's Remembrance service will be attended by two people from each Greater Manchester borough who work in health and social care.

It will also be attended by the mayors and leaders of all ten GM councils.

The Mayor of Bury, Councillor Tim Pickstone, said: “This deadly virus has taken a dreadful human toll, in the UK and across the world.

"For every life that has been lost, there will be many more who are left grieving for their relatives and friends.

“It’s fitting that today’s service will be attended by health and social care staff, who have been on the frontline of treating and looking after our most vulnerable residents.

“This remembrance service drives home the need for all of us to continue to follow the guidelines around social distancing and hygiene and stop this virus taking any more of our loved ones.”

An online Greater Manchester Book of Remembrance will also be launched today by the Dean of Manchester Cathedral and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

To watch the live stream of the service visit facebook.com/ManchesterCathedral