Star date: 7th May 2021

AS SALFORD CASES REMAIN QUITE STABLE, BOLTON INFECTIONS SURGE

Salford has 18 new coronavirus cases, up from the previous day's 11, while the seven day rate per 100,000 population now stands at 36.3, down from 38.2. As Salford's rate remains relatively stable, Bolton's rate has surged to 83.8. There have been no new virus-related deaths announced by Salford Royal Hospital.

Meanwhile, the legal cannabis industry reports that demand soared during lockdown and is urging Government support as a way to get the economy back on track. We're still awaiting a report from the illegal cannabis industry about demand for its products.

Full details here...

Salford has 18 new coronavirus cases, up from the previous day's 11, bringing the cumulative total of cases to 23,362. The seven day average of cases in Salford is now 94, down from 99, while the seven day rate per 100,000 population now stands at 36.3, down from 38.2.

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester the seven day average of cases in Bury is 43 (up from 41), with a seven day rate per 100,000 population of 22.5 (up from 21.5); Bolton 241 (up from 213), with a rate of 83.8 (up from 74.1); Manchester 189 (up from 185), with a rate of 34.2 (up from 33.5), and Oldham 73 (down from 74), with a rate of 30.8 (down from 31.2).

Rochdale has a seven day average of cases of 78 (up from 74), with a seven day rate of 35.1 (up from 33.3); Stockport 68 (up from 63), with a rate of 23.2 (up from 21.5); Tameside 58 (down from 59), with a rate of 25.6 (down from 26); Trafford 114 (up from 112), with a rate of 48 (up from 47.2); and Wigan 74 (up from 70), with a rate of 22.5 (up from 21.3).

As the rate of infection in most Greater Manchester boroughs, including Salford, remains relatively stable, Bolton's rate has surged to 83.8, a bit of a worry as it borders Salford. 

There have been no new virus-related deaths announced by Salford Royal Hospital.

Meanwhile, a new report from the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI) and the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC), called Green Shoots - Sowing The Seeds Of The New UK Cannabis Industry, reveals that demand for cannabis products soared during lockdown, with sales estimated to hit £690million for 2021, up from the previous £526million estimation.

Products include CBD and other legal cannabis extracts, and the industry believes that its growth, or what it calls 'Britain's quiet cannabis revolution', could help the UK economy get back on track with a bit of Government support.

"The size of this cannabinoid sector is now impossible to ignore" says Paul Birch, Co-Founder of the CMC and ACI "Today's report reveals that sales of CBD products up to the year end of April 2021 are valued at £690m, almost a third higher than our last projection in 2019. Almost without notice and certainly by accident rather than design, the UK has improbably become the world's second largest consumer cannabinoids market."

The report shows that most of the profits from the industry are currently going overseas as "UK farmers must destroy the parts of the hemp crop which lucrative CBD is extracted from", and calls for...'A dedicated agency to licence and oversee the industry; A new centre of excellence to boost the UK's medicinal cannabis market; and Urgent reform of licensing policy'.

"With new Government support, the accidental consumer cannabis revolution that has allowed CBD to become available on every high street in the UK could become permanent, nurturing hundreds of new businesses, thousands of jobs and billions of pounds in exports" says Steve Moore, Co-Founder and Strategic Counsel to the CMC and ACI "It's hard to imagine there are many more industries that could benefit almost immediately from the proposals set out in our report."

Meanwhile, the Salford Star understands that while demand for products from the illegal cannabis industry also soared during lockdown, supply from overseas was severely was curtailed by lockdown restrictions. We await a report from the illegal cannabis industry...