Coronavirus: The Army to help targeted testing in Gtr Manchester

Over 5,000 military personnel are supporting the government's response to the pandemic

The armed forces will be deployed to support targeted coronavirus testing across Greater Manchester, the government has confirmed.

Cases in the region rose 36.5% in the week to 30 December, up from 204 to to 278.5 cases per 100,000 population.

From next week, over 800 personnel will assist with testing of people who work in high-risk environments such as care homes.

The military helped to deliver mass testing in Liverpool last year.

Over 5,000 military personnel are supporting the government's response to the pandemic, the biggest homeland operation the UK has seen in peacetime, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

They are working on 70 different tasks ranging from schools testing to the rollout of vaccines.

Those targeted will be people at higher risk of infection such as social care staff, key workers, public facing occupations such as bus drivers, and those in high risk environments such care homes and shared accommodation for the homeless.

Armed forces personnel will be deployed across Manchester where local councils believe the lateral flow rapid-result tests can achieve the greatest impact.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace - who is Conservative MP for Wyre and Preston North in Lancashire - said the tests will be "an important contribution to protecting the highest risk groups as the city seeks to recover".

"As a North West MP, I am acutely aware of the considerable time many of us have been labouring under some form of lockdown and I hope our soldiers will help us get to the day when these restrictions will start to lift," he added.

Greater Manchester moved into tier four - the highest level of coronavirus restrictions - at midnight on 30 December.

The region was first placed in tier three on 23 October, and has had restrictions on groups meeting indoors since July.

Under tier four rules, non-essential shops, beauty salons and hairdressers must close, and people are limited to meeting in a public outdoor place with their household, or one other person.

• GLOBAL SPREAD: How many worldwide cases are there?

• THE R NUMBER: What it means and why it matters

• SYMPTOMS: What are they and how to guard against them?

• LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?

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