ALL of Greater Manchester is now subject to the same travel advice issued to Bolton a few weeks ago, which caused confusion.

People living in all the 10 boroughs and many parts of Lancashire are being urged to minimise travel and meet those not in their bubble outside.

Greater Manchester has a number of towns with some of the highest infection rates in the country, including neighbouring Bury.

Today health secretary Matt Hancock announced a package of measures similar to those implemented in Bolton to reduce infection rates.

He said the Government was “providing a strengthened package of support” to tackle the rise in the Delta variant.

Greater Manchester has moved to what has described as a covid enhanced response area and identified as where the Delta variant, also known as the Indian mutation, is spreading fast.

He told MPs in the Commons: “I can tell the House that today working with local authorities, we are providing a strengthened package of support based on what’s working in Bolton, to help Greater Manchester and Lancashire tackle the rise in the Delta variant that we’re seeing there.

“This includes rapid response teams, putting in extra testing, military support and supervised in school testing. I want to encourage everyone in Manchester and Lancashire to get the tests on offer.

“We know that this approach can work, we’ve seen it work in south London and in Bolton in stopping a rise in the number of cases.

“This is the next stage of tackling the pandemic in Manchester and in Lancashire, and of course it’s vital that people in these areas – as everywhere else – come forward and get the jab as soon as they’re eligible because that is our way out of this pandemic together.”

The advice to 'minimise' travel in and out of the town has been updated to include the whole of Greater Manchester

The Greater Manchester boroughs have been issued with additional guidance to contain the Indian variant, which is spreading fast throughout the region.