A major incident has been declared in Greater Manchester in response to increases in coronavirus infection rates across “multiple localities”. The decision to up the readiness of emergency and public services to react to the escalating Covid-19 transmission rate in the region comes after the government announced new lockdown restrictions for parts of north-west England on Thursday. Gold command meetings of senior figures from the police, local authorities and other agencies to discuss the pandemic have been taking place over the weekend. Major incidents are often declared as a result of a terror attack or natural disaster and mean a region can access extra national resources if necessary, with the police able to draft in the army if they need support. Nick Bailey, assistant chief constable and chairman of the local resilience forum in Greater Manchester, said the strategic coordination group met this weekend to discuss regulations in response to last week’s announcement. He said: “Recognising that there are multiple localities across Greater Manchester seeing rises in infection rates, the group reviewed learning from other recent areas, including Leicester, and its own learning from across the partnership and have taken the decision to declare this a major incident in order to respond as effectively as possible. “This will enable us to maximise the capability of agencies across Greater Manchester, including additional resources if required, to instigate a prompt and positive change in direction.” On Thursday night tighter lockdown restrictions were announced for Greater Manchester, alongside parts of east Lancashire and West Yorkshire. They included a ban on meetings in houses or gardens between people from different households. People in the affected region also should not visit other people’s properties or gardens outside the area. Pubs, restaurants, cafes and gyms remain open in the affected areas but people are being told not to socialise with other households in these settings. Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester city council, said declaring a major incident was “standard practice for complex situations which require a coordinated multi-agency response”. “Although the council and partner organisations have been working closely to tackle the impacts of the pandemic since early this year, declaring a major incident means we can ramp this up further,” he said. “Following last week’s government announcement of preventative public health measures across Greater Manchester to address the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the public would expect us to give this situation our concerted collective attention. “That, with a view to enabling these restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible, is exactly what we are doing.” Meanwhile, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Combined Authority said the restrictions announced on Thursday had not changed and the declaration of a major incident was “no more than a boost to our capabilities”. He said the move “is simply to enable our public agencies to access any additional resources they need as quickly and efficiently as possible”, adding: “It is absolutely appropriate for us to maximise our resources in the drive to reverse the spike in infection which we have witnessed in the last seven to 10 days. “The more we stick to the new guidelines and drive the R rate down, the quicker they will be removed. Please do not visit someone else’s home or garden unless you have formed a support bubble. Do not meet outdoors in groups of more than six. Please wash your hands thoroughly and as often as possible.” Infection rates for the week to Thursday – when the new measures were introduced – show cases per 100,000 people still rising in every part of Greater Manchester. According to a rolling seven-day rate of new cases of Covid-19 compiled by the PA news agency, Oldham has the second highest rate of new cases per 100,000 people out of all local authorities in England. The seven-day rate in Oldham jumped from 41.6 to 62.8, with 148 new cases – behind only Blackburn with Darwen. Other areas reporting notable week-on-week rises in Greater Manchester include Trafford (up from 31.3 to 38.1, with 90 new cases); Manchester (up from 18.6 to 34.3, with 188 new cases); Tameside (up from 12.9 to 28.4, with 64 new cases) and Stockport (up from 13.7 to 22.6, with 66 new cases). Meanwhile, the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has called for the government to re-introduce shielding measures, which came to an end in England on 31 July. In a tweet tonight, he said: “I listened to the Government when they came to me late on Thursday and asked for our support for new restrictions. “I am now asking them to listen to us: please reinstate the shielding policy in Greater Manchester from first thing tomorrow. “Failure to do so is wrong and inhumane.”