Patients arrive in ambulances at the Royal London Hospital on January 5, 2021, in London, England. The British Prime Minister gave a national television speech on Monday night announcing that England will enter its third blockade of the pandemic covid-19. This week, the UK recorded more than 50,000 new confirmed cases of Covid for the seventh consecutive day.
Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday a major incident about the rapid spread of coronavirus in the UK’s capital.
He had previously warned that the virus was “out of control” and that the National Health Service was “on the verge of being overwhelmed”.
“I declared a major incident in London because the threat this virus poses to our city is in crisis,” said Khan via Twitter.
“One in 30 Londoners now has COVID-19. If we don’t take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” he added.
The announcement came shortly after weekly data through January 2 found that the rate of coronavirus infection in London had risen to 1,038 per 100,000 inhabitants. This figure compares to a city-wide infection rate of 818 per 100,000 the previous week.
By comparison, the national infection rate was 612 per 100,000 in the week ending January 2.
The increased pressure on the already strained health facilities in the city coincides with the resurgence of the spread of Covid-19, while the UK struggles to contain a highly infectious variant of the virus.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the third national blockade for England in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. The measures legally took effect on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the UK registered 52,618 new cases of the coronavirus, according to official data, and 1,162 deaths in 28 days after a positive test for the virus.
Major incidents were previously reported after the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terrorist attacks on Westminster Bridge in March 2017 and London Bridge in November 2019.