Covid admissions are rising in Greater Manchester once more - but mayor says it is not yet time for Tier 4

Zack Sharf The rollercoaster journey of casting the title role in George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” is documented in Kyle Buchanan’s upcoming oral history book “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road.” An excerpt published by Vulture reveals that casting Max Rockatansky boiled down to Tom Hardy, Armie Hammer and Jeremy Renner after an exhaustive search that also included Michael Fassbender, Joel Kinnaman, Heath Ledger, Eric Bana and more.Buchanan, who is also the awards season columnist for the New York Times, reports: “Near the end of the process, Hardy emerged as a front-runner alongside Jeremy Renner and Armie Hammer. Hardy and Hammer even read together as part of their audition, and when Hardy gnashed his teeth and spat at his scene partner, Hammer told Miller that Hardy needed to be Max more than he did.” Audition cameraman Todd Matthew Grossman told Buchanan, “Jeremy and Armie were equally wonderful, but there was something about Tom in the room where it felt like that was Max, without a doubt.

direct to your inboxAndy Burnham has added his voice to those calling for teaching staff to be vaccinated for Covid-19 ahead of schools reopening next month.The mayor was reacting to the government's decision to delay the return of secondary school pupils until 18 January.Only exam year groups will receive online teaching from January 11, before all pupils return the week after, subject to a review.All primary schools will reopen as planned on Monday, apart from some in Tier 4 areas in London and the south east.

direct to your inboxThe number of coronavirus patients in Greater Manchester hospitals is rising as it emerged 25pc of cases have been identified as belonging to the new strain.The Mayor Andy Burnham said while the current picture of the region's health system is 'challenging but manageable', he is concerned that the fast-spreading variant of Covid-19 could 'overwhelm' it.He therefore welcomed the government's decision to put Greater Manchester in Tier 4, the highest level of restrictions.It means everyone in the region has been told to 'stay at home' and only leave if absolutely necessary.At his weekly press conference today, Mr Burnham said he hoped tighter restrictions would allow Greater Manchester to 'get ahead' of the new strain.The

direct to your inboxUp to 25pc of all new coronavirus cases across Greater Manchester can be attributed to the new strain seen spreading rapidly through southern England.Experts predict there could be even higher number of new cases down to the new variant currently due to a data lag.Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham announced the figures at a press conference this morning.He said that partly as a result of this new strain, he and Greater Manchester’s leaders are in agreement with the government’s decision to place the city-region under the toughest Tier 4 restrictions, as a ‘preventative’ measure.Mr Burnham said: “What has changed up to now is the prevalence of the new strain of the virus, around 25pc of our cases can be attributed to

direct to your inboxAndy Burnham has said that Greater Manchester's move into Tier 4 is "justified" but has encouraged a more national approach.The Mayor of Greater Manchester held his final coronavirus press conference of 2020 after the region was placed under the toughest restrictions.From 00.01 on Thursday, millions of people have been subjected to a stay home order with non-essential businesses also forced to close.During his press conference, Mr Burnham confirmed that the new variant of coronavirus, which has seen huge spikes in infection rates in the south, now accounts for 25 percent of new positive cases in Greater Manchester.He said "this is the moment of maximum danger" and that the next two months will be challenging, and

direct to your inboxA massive 35,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have already been distributed across Greater Manchester – and more are set to follow.Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham gave a press conference this morning (Thursday) and announced the plan for the region’s vaccine distribution.He said 12,000 of the vaccines already provided were given at hospital hubs and 23,000 via the region’s primary care network.Mr Burnham said 25 per cent of Greater Manchester’s new coronavirus cases are attributable to the new strain of COVID-19, which is also spreading rapidly through London and the south east.He said Greater Manchester leaders agreed with the government’s decision to place the region under the strict Tier 4 restrictions as a

direct to your inboxThe coronavirus pandemic has exposed the crisis in the "broken" social care system – and it would be "immoral" not to fix it, Andy Burnham has warned.The mayor of Greater Manchester said the only way to cope with an ageing population would be to more closely integrate social care with the NHS.

direct to your inbox Manchester’s first accommodation service catered specifically for homeless people who identify as LGBT+ opened earlier this week. The Riverside Housing project in the city centre consists of six modern flats providing residents with a safe space ‘free from discrimination’ alongside additional support services.

direct to your inboxA former police rep says any culture shift within Greater Manchester Police must start with the region’s mayor.Ian Hanson says Andy Burnham must deal directly with those delivering the service if the force is to make important changes after it was placed into ‘special measures’.Mr Hanson - who retired as GMP’s Federation chairman in 2018 - claims Mr Burnham met with him just once during his tenure.He has accused the mayor of “shouldering” responsibility for policing to his deputy mayor Bev Hughes.Greater Manchester Combined Authority said the mayor’s office and the deputy mayor have regular meetings with the GMP Federation and continue to do so.Federation chairman, Stu Berry, says he has enjoyed a professional

direct to your inboxThe deputy mayor has expressed fears there could be a rise in illegal raves and house parties in Greater Manchester over the Christmas period.Beverley Hughes told a press conference led by Andy Burnham on Tuesday that there is intelligence to suggest the region 'could see a return' of the raves and parties seen over the summer. A series of illegal 'lockdown' events this year saw young people hospitalised due to drug overdoses, reports of sexual assaults, and even resulted in the death of one teenager.

direct to your inboxThis is the man who will take over the top job at Greater Manchester Police - for now - after the resignation today of chief constable Ian Hopkins.Ian Pilling, currently GMP's deputy chief constable, will 'step up' as the force's interim chief, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said.Mr Burnham added he would set in motion the search for Mr Hopkins' permanent replacement in the new year, saying: "Now is the time for new leadership and a new era in our police force."Mr Hopkins, a father-of-two, was named the force's chief constable in 2015, taking over from the retiring Sir Peter Fahy.

Greater Manchester Police's top cop has quit citing poor health after the force was placed under special measures.

placed in ‘special measures’ following a damning inspection report. Greater Manchester’s Labour mayor previously said he was ‘confident’ that "in just a small number of days, significant progress has been made".A new complaints line for people who do not feel their crime report has been dealt with properly will be launched, as well as further recruitment to a new centralised crime recording unit, he said.

direct to your inboxThe mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has slammed the government’s decision to keep the region under the toughest coronavirus restrictions.Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester this afternoon, he said: “The average for all of Greater Manchester is lower than Liverpool and London when they went into tier 2.“I don’t think they’ve got the balance right at all here, so I understand the frustration, but let’s not take it out on the NHS.“We’ve got to follow those rules and it will be a difficult winter, there’s just no way of getting away from it, if we were in tier 2 or tier 3.”Listener Darren from Salford told Mike Sweeney and Andy Burnham: “How can they turn round and say they’re treating Manchester and the North

taken control even ahead of Matt Hancock's statement and decided not to reopen at such short notice, even if the Government allowed them to.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester has stayed in Tier 3 following a government review.There was speculation that the region could be downgraded to Tier 2 following a dramatic drop in coronavirus case rates.Greater Manchester boroughs now have infection rates that are lower than the average for England, the latest Public Health England data has shown.Mayor Andy Burnham also argued on Wednesday that there was a "clear case" for the region being eased into Tier 2.However, Matt Hancock announced little change to the Tiers across England on Thursday, after already bumping London and other south east areas into Tier 3 earlier in the week.This means that there will be no changes for Greater Manchester until the next review.Do you think the

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester and Lancashire are staying in Tier 3 restrictions after a review of Covid rules across England.Matt Hancock announced in the House of Commons on Thursday morning that Bristol and North Somerset were coming out of Tier 3 into Tier 2 - but that every other part of England currently in Tier 3 was staying there.  He also announced a list of areas that would be moved up into Tier 3 including Surrey, Berkshire and Peterborough.

direct to your inbox Andy Burnham has announced a new victim support hotline to take calls from people unhappy with the way Greater Manchester Police is dealing with their reported crime, in the wake of a blistering inspection report.

direct to your inboxGreater Manchester leaders have urged the government to base their review of tiering arrangements on what is happening in the north of England instead of the south.Mayor Andy Burnham remains confident that there is a case for all ten boroughs to come out of Tier 3 at once with Covid-19 infection rates falling by 20 per cent since December 2.However he admitted ahead of the government’s announcement tomorrow that it was ‘more borderline’ in boroughs where rates remain above the national averageHospital admissions have continued to fall in Greater Manchester - though more cases are being detected amongst people already in hospital - and there are now more non-Covid patients in intensive care than those with the virus.Cases

interview with the Evening Standard, he said he wanted to 'correct a myth' that he doesn't like London. If only he'd stopped there...He went on: "I love London.

direct to your inbox If Andy Burnham’s year opened with a lot of noise around the police, in the form of his report into the calamitous 2004 Operation Augusta investigation, it now seems to be closing in the same vein - albeit in the form of a less politically flattering story. Thursday’s verdict from Her Majesty’s policing Inspectorate on Greater Manchester Police’s current performance is a much harder sell than the mayor’s own historic inquiry into child sexual exploitation.