Councillor David Greenhalgh of the Bolton council said: “Yes, our rates of the Indian Variant are going up, but while hospitalisations remain low and all evidence points to the vaccine holding, the administration’s message to Government is ‘do not lock us down’. Do not take us out of the road map.
“The majority of our cases are in their teens, 20s and 30s. Send us more vaccinations and allow us to vaccinate 18 years+ now, that is the answer, not further restrictions.
“We have been here before. All that will happen is people will travel outside the borough, sometimes 50 yards up the road across a boundary to access hospitality. It does not work. And our hospitality is left struggling again, and on its knees.”