Andy Burnham has said he "can't rule out" Greater Manchester being put into Tier 4 by the Government, as he raised fears that without extra support, more businesses will collapse in the New Year.
The region's mayor said on Tuesday while the new, more infectious strain of coronavirus has not yet been officially confirmed in the region, it's "safe to assume it's already here".
But he said because Greater Manchester and much of the North West has not yet seen the huge rise in the infection rate witnessed in London and parts of the South East, the region does "not yet justify" Tier 4 being imposed.
Introduced in the South East at the weekend, the toughest Tier 4 restrictions mean a strict 'stay at home' order - with hospitality businesses able to offer takeaway only. Greater Manchester is currently in Tier 3, where restrictions are more lenient - but Covid cases have been rising in most areas.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Burnham was asked whether he had concerns the region - and possibly the entire country - would be forced into Tier 4.
He said: "I can't rule anything out today, but I would ask the Government to obviously look at the cases here, and not just go towards a blanket approach given the differential position the different regions are in.
"But I'm not ruling out that we might need to take more decisive action later down the line."
Asked whether he was now satisfied that enough support had been provided by the Government for Greater Manchester's businesses, he added: "There is certainly a big concern about lack of business support, specifically within the hospitality sector.
"So the answer is no. The fear is that many pubs, restaurants, other hospitality outlets will not reopen in the new year because we will lose some of those businesses.
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"I think there's a feeling that the supply chains to those businesses have not been properly supported.
"We've seen figures from our economic team today that suggest there are more businesses close to collapse and a growing number of business failures.
"So it's a very, very serious position indeed.
"Tier 4, of course, will create much greater challenges for businesses in Greater Manchester - and that is why I'm saying we would not want to be put in Tier 4 unless it was strictly necessary."
Raising the issue of a lack of support for people told to self-isolate, Mayor Burnham added: "We have the message going out nationally and regionally that more people may need to self isolate, but we still don't have a system in place that promptly supports people to self-isolate, particularly if they would be without their wages for the period of self-isolation.
"That remains a gap in our armour that we've pointed out so many times this year, and it still hasn't been filled.
"That is an issue that urgently needs to be corrected as we go through this period into January."
