THE borough saw 39 new coronavirus cases in the latest daily figure, a smaller rise than yesterday which bucked the national trend.

Wigan borough saw 39 cases confirmed for the 24 hours up to 9am on Wednesday, September 23, less than the 53 on Wednesday, as the UK as a whole saw the daily total jump to 6,178.

Monday saw 61 cases and Sunday's figure of 54, whilethere were 59 new cases found last Saturday.

Public Health England now includes in the statistics Pillar two tests – those carried out in the wider community – alongside Pillar one tests, which are analysed in NHS Hospitals or PHE laboratories.

The borough was placed on "red alert" last week due to the rising rate.

Across the UK, the number of recorded cases in Tuesday's figures increased by 6,178.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced national restrictions yesterday in response to the growing national rate.

These include all pubs and restaurants in England closing at 10pm and people being asked to work from home, if they can.

The latest figures mean that 2,993 people in Wigan borough have been confirmed as testing positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

The total rate of infection in the borough since the start of the outbreak now stands at 910.7 cases per 100,000 people, higher than the England average of 627.

The real number of overall cases is likely to have been much higher due to the lack of testing availability in the wider community during the peak of the pandemic in the spring.

Cumulative counts include asymptomatic cases, patients who are currently unwell, have recovered and those that have died.