Council leaders in Greater Manchester have agreed in principle to a publicly available heat map of coronavirus cases the city-region, as the infection rate remains almost double the UK average, the Manchester Evening News has reported.
In a press briefing, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham outlined the idea of publishing a coronavirus heat map, allowing the public to understand the risk of Covid-19 transmission in their local communities.
Data on coronavirus cases reported over the last two weeks, shows there are wide discrepancies between transmission rates in different local authorities in Greater Manchester.
Across the city-region as a whole, there were 16.8 new cases per 100,000 confirmed in the fortnight up to 4th June, close to double the English average of 9.2. Stockport however is only seeing fewer than 7 cases per 100,000 and has the lowest transmission rate Greater Manchester, while neighbouring Tameside is seeing more than four times the number of cases per 100,000 residents with a transmission rate of 28.7 new cases per 100,000 reported in the last 14 days.
Public health officials in Greater Manchester have been analysing coronavirus case data in the city-region to identify local hotspots in the community. One analysis from Public Health England also calculated an R value (the average number of people an infected person will pass on the virus to) in the North West had climbed above 1, potentially leading to an overall increase in coronavirus case numbers.
Andy Burnham suggested use of a coronavirus heat map would allow the public to make informed decisions on the risk of Covid-19 transmission in their local community.
Speaking to the MEN, a spokesperson from Stockport Council has welcomed the increased availability of testing in helping to understand the Covid-19 outbreak in the borough, pointing to the discovery of asymptomatic cases within care facilities.