Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham until 12pm today to agree to a tier three lockdown, or face having them imposed by the government.
Mr Burnham has been refusing to move to the highest tier, and has been negotiating for further financial support for businesses and workers that would be affected by entering the highest restrictions.
However, Boris Johnson has previously said that he ‘will intervene’ if an agreement between the Government and Manchester cannot be made.
This brings the official total number of people infected since the start of the pandemic to 741,212, and the death toll to 43,726.
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