TEN more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Bolton.

Figures released by Public Health England yesterday afternoon confirmed that more residents in the borough had tested positive for the virus.

So far, 1,966 positive cases have now been confirmed, with 226 patients dying at Royal Bolton Hospital after contracting covid-19.

The rise in cases came as one expert said health leaders had “very high” levels of concern about the possibility of a second wave.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said that the combination of a spike of cases with “exhausted staff” while the NHS tries to rebuild services could prove “challenging”.

He told the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus: “I would say in relation to the second spike issue or something coming, the levels of concern among our members – the people who are leading NHS trusts, who are leading in primary care and all levels in the systems – is very high.

“There’s real concern about winter and the compounding factors there, but also about an earlier spike.”

He said non-Covid-19 productivity in NHS trusts was currently at 60 per cent.