COVID rates in Bolton have fallen for the first time in weeks - and the borough no longer has the highest rates in the country. 

There were just over 1,000 Covid cases in the seven days up to May 25 - close to 20 per cent down on the previous week - and a rate of 362 cases per 100,000.

Nationally, Bolton is now second to Blackburn with Darwen, latest figures show.

Infection rates have gone up in every other Greater Manchester borough.

Boris Johnson faces a difficult decision about whether to end England’s lockdown on June 21 with hospitals already under “worrying” pressure, a health chief has warned.

The continued spread of the Indian coronavirus variant has cast doubt on the ability to scrap restrictions, with ministers considering plans to keep some measures – such as the continued use of face masks and guidance on working from home – in place.

NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said hospital bosses were concerned about the transmissibility of the B1617.2 variant and the large number of people who have still to receive doses of the vaccine.

He warned that although hospitals were not expecting to be overwhelmed by a surge of Covid-19 cases, they were already stretched by going “full pelt” on dealing with the backlog of cases built up during the pandemic and urgent care needs.

Hospitals are operating under reduced capacity due to Covid-19 restrictions and increased numbers of coronavirus patients will add to difficulties by requiring wards to be reconfigured, he added.

But he said it was “very significant and important” that the evidence suggests the success of the vaccination campaign means much lower levels of hospital admissions, serious illness and death than previously experienced.

“Significant numbers of Covid-19 hospital inpatients will adversely impact care backlog recovery,” he said.

“(The) current degree of pressure on hospitals is worrying especially since we saw clear summer demand surges in the two years before Covid-19.

“But if, as evidence above suggests, success of (the) vaccination campaign means much lower levels of hospitalisation, serious illness and mortality, even with (the) new variant, that is very significant and important. This means there is a difficult decision to make for June 21.”