'Cause for optimism' even as hospital numbers rise

We spoke to Manchester's director of public health and crunched the latest data

Dear members — today’s newsletter takes a look at Greater Manchester’s ‘fourth wave’, the uptick in cases we are seeing at the moment, which is also now being reflected in increased hospitalisations.

Last night we spoke to David Regan, Manchester’s director of public health, and this morning we’ve been looking at the latest data on cases and hospital occupancy and comparing it to the previous waves in Greater Manchester. Fortuitously our new trainee reporter Jacklin Kwan has a physics degree and is good at crunching numbers — she has some useful graphs and commentary below that help to put the current situation into context.

Join us tonight! We are running our first ‘Grist To The Mill’ discussion thread this evening, where we invite members to contribute their ideas for our coverage in the months ahead. It’s another way of making sure our news list draws on the wisdom, expertise and experience of our membership.

• You can post about anything you like — whether it’s a local choir you are…