the gradual increase in Covid cases themselves. Figures leaked to the M.E.N, presented in private to council leaders at their emergency Covid committee this morning, reveal the scale of the impact coronavirus has already had on other areas of NHS treatment.
In January 2020, just 55 patients across the whole of Greater Manchester had been waiting more than a year for treatment - usually a key NHS England standard.
By July, that had risen to 5,549. That list is now estimated to be at 10,600 and is expected to almost double again, to 20,400, by next March.