PUBLIC health bosses in Trafford are "not in the situation we want to be in" over coronavirus.

Trafford's infection rate is 55.6 per 100,000 people and rising, public health director Eleanor Roaf told a council engagement board.

She said issues with testing had been ‘affecting us quite badly in Trafford, as with everyone else’.

She said: “We’re not in the situation we want to be in at all. There have been testing issues with testing which have been affecting us quite badly...as with everyone else."

Council leader Andrew Western said he had concerns over testing 'confusion'.

Ms Road added: "What we need to focus on now is to really reinforce that message of just testing when you’re symptomatic, that’s really the most important time to get a test.

“If you are told to self isolate, there’s really no point in getting a test unless you are symptomatic.

“We need to make sure people don’t go for a test if they’re asked to self isolate.

"Even if the test comes back as negative you still need to self isolate. I’m not sure that message has really been understood.

“If someone in your household is symptomatic the household hygiene, bathroom, kitchen hygiene [has to be] absolutely tip top to make sure we don’t get any household spread.”

Council leader Cllr Andrew Western said: "People are getting incredibly confused with all of the different messaging coming out.

“This is going to be an incredibly long hard winter for people. People are now facing six months plus of not being able to see their families – people are trying to pull a solution together.”

Across Greater Manchester it is understood leaders are looking for a new solution to the issue of families not being able to see their relatives in care homes.

Ms Roaf added: “We need to try to limit the isolation of care home residents from family and friends and see how we can support them.

“This is going to be throughout the winter. We need to make sure that we’re as well prepared as we can be. That we are taking the personal level of responsibility that we need to take.

“Keep social distancing, but at the same time exercise is incredibly important – trying to make sure that people do get out and about.

“Although the rates are rising fast, they’re not where they were in March.

“We need to just make sure they don’t get back to where they were in March and April.

“It’s really important that we can have an honest dialogue and what we do the things that support people – otherwise people aren’t going to be truthful with us about who they’re seeing.”

Cllr Western said: “It’s going into a really important phase over the next two to three weeks at least.”