OVER 150 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across the borough.

Official statistics released this afternoon added 153 new cases of covid-19 to Bolton's total, meaning 5,889 people have now contracted the virus across the borough.

The current infection rate for the week up to October 5 is now 275.1 cases per 100,000 people – an all-time high.

Across the country, 17,540 new cases of covid-19 were confirmed, with 43 patient deaths in English hospitals linked to the virus.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the country has reached a “perilous moment” in the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

He told the NHS Providers annual conference: “We are at a perilous moment in the course of this pandemic.

“I am very worried about the growth in the number of cases, especially in the North West and the North East of England, parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and parts of Yorkshire.”

He added: “In parts of the country the situation is again becoming very serious.

“Hospitalisations in the North West are doubling approximately every fortnight. They have risen by 57 per cent in just the last week alone.

“Unfortunately we’re seeing hospitalisations in the over-60s rising sharply and the number of deaths from coronavirus also rising.”

In the North West, 1,098 people are currently being treated in hospital for coronavirus, with 117 people needing ventilation to control their symptoms.

At the peak of the pandemic, in early April, around 2,900 patients were treated in hospitals across the region.

The number of people receiving hospital treatment dropped under 100 at the end of August.