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- BBC World News
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Image source, Reuters
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Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, says the virus is “out of control”.
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The covid-19 in London is “out of control”, admitted this Friday the mayor of the city, Sadiq Khan, who declared the status of “serious incident” in the city.
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The coronavirus infection rate exceeds 1,000 people per 100,000 and an estimated one in 30 Londoners has the virus.
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Khan told the BBC that in some parts of the city that number is one in 20.
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The declaration of “serious incident” it was also done in the past by events such as the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and by the terrorist attacks on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.
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The declaration means that emergency services and hospitals cannot guarantee their normal level of response.
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There are currently more than 7,000 people in the hospital with covid-19, the mayor said. That’s a 35% increase compared to the previous high point, in April of last year.
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The mayor said the ambulance service was receiving up to 8,000 emergency calls, compared to 5,500 on a typical day.
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Image source, Reuters
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The public health system could collapse due to the high infection rate.
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The Regional Director of Public Health for England, Kevin Fenton, said the current wave of coronavirus is “the biggest threat” the British capital has faced in the pandemic to date.
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And he asked Londoners to “avoid contacts and slow down their movements.”
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“The irruption of the new variant (of the virus) means that we achieve records that are twice the national average and at least one in 30 people is a carrier of the virus,” he added.
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“We know that this will sadly lead to more deaths, so strong and immediate action is required.”
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Khan warned that London is “in a time of crisis”
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“If we don’t take action immediately, our NHS (public health system) could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” he said, imploring Londoners to stay home.
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