- ‘Big incident’ was declared in London as city hospitals are filled to capacity with Covid patients
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan made the decision, saying the pandemic was “out of control” in the UK’s capital.
- Following is information leaked from the National Health Service, revealing that London hospitals are just two weeks from the breaking point.
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” in the UK capital, when the city’s hospitals are about to be overwhelmed with Covid.
Khan said the number of coronavirus patients at the city hospital rose by almost a third last week, with total hospitalizations now more than a third above the peak of the first wave of the pandemic last spring.
The main incidents are defined by the City as an event with “a series of serious consequences that requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency response agencies”.
They were previously declared in London in response to the Westminster Bridge and London Bridge terrorist attacks and the Grenfell fire.
Khan’s decision follows a leaked statement from the National Health Service on Thursday, revealing that hospitals in the capital were just two weeks from the breaking point.
“The situation in London is now critical, with the virus spreading out of control,” said Khan.
“We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is in crisis. If we do not take immediate action, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.”
The leaders of the local authorities in the city asked Londoners to stay at home.
“Cases are increasing at a dangerous rate in London, putting extreme pressure on the NHS,” said Georgia Gould, chairman of the London Councils, in a statement.
“One in 30 Londoners now has Covid. That’s why public services in London are asking all Londoners to stay home, except for absolutely essential shopping and exercise.”
The mayor wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for an additional financial support package for Londoners who need to isolate themselves, as well as a new ban on people attending places of worship and new laws to force the use of masks routinely outside the home.