LONDON (AP) – The Mayor of London declared the situation of COVID-19 in the capital to be critical on Friday, reflecting the deteriorating conditions for besieged hospitals, as the country has authorized a third vaccine for emergency use.
Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” as the rapid spread of the virus has brought hospitals to the breaking point, with the number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus increasing 27% in the week through January 6. One in 30 people in the British capital was infected with the virus in the week until January 2, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Other emergency services are also under pressure, with hundreds of firefighters now driving ambulances, for example.
“Our heroic doctors, nurses and NHS staff are doing an incredible job, but with cases rising so quickly, our hospitals are at risk of being overwhelmed,” said Khan. “The harsh reality is that we will be out of beds for patients in the coming weeks, unless the spread of the virus slows dramatically.”
A major incident is defined as one where there is a risk to life and well-being and is “beyond the scope of normal operations”. It allows coordination between different emergency agencies and will allow London to ask for help from other areas.
Khan, a member of the opposition Labor Party, also wrote to conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking for more financial support for Londoners who need to isolate themselves and cannot work, and asked for masks to be used in crowded outdoor spaces as well as indoors .
The action comes at a time when more good news about fighting the virus appears with the approval of the Modern vaccine, while the country intensifies a vaccination program essential to lift the United Kingdom out of the pandemic.
The Health Department said on Friday that the vaccine meets “the strict safety, efficacy and quality standards of the British drug regulator”. Britain has ordered 17 million doses scheduled to be delivered by spring.
“Vaccines are the key to freeing us from the grip of this pandemic, and today’s news is another important step in ending the blockade and returning to normal life,” said business secretary Alok Sharma.
So far, Britain has inoculated 1.5 million people with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccines. It plans to vaccinate about 15 million people by mid-February.
Authorization comes as the need for such aid grows more and more.
NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens said on Thursday that the pressures faced by hospitals in London and south-east England are so acute that a temporary field hospital in the ExCel London conference center will open next week.
The hospital was one of several built in the spring to help during the pandemic, but it was not widely used.
“The entire London health service is mobilizing to do everything it can, but infections, the growth rate of hospitalizations, that is what collectively the country needs to get under control,” said Stevens.
The UK is reporting virus-related deaths at a level last seen during the worst days at the start of the pandemic. On Thursday, government data showed that another 1,162 people died within 28 days after the test was positive for the virus.
The total number of virus-related deaths in the UK is now 78,508. According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the UK has the highest number of COVID-related deaths in Europe and the fifth largest number in the world.
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