Rising London cases trigger Tier Three fear

LONDON is seeing a rising number of Covid cases – triggering fears that it could be placed under the toughest restrictions next week.

There were 170 cases per 100,000 Londoners for the week ending on December 2, up from 156 the previous week, the latest figures show.

The R rate for London is 0.9 to 1.1, higher than the English average of 0.8 to 1.

The increase in numbers is likely to have been exacerbated by dining out and shopping over the weekend after the English lockdown was lifted.

It has sparked concerns the capital could soon be moved from Tier Two to Tier Three.

The seven-day rolling average of Covid cases across the city’s 32 boroughs is rising following a decline at the end of November.

Under Tier Two rules, London’s pubs and restaurants are able to open but this could change when the allocation of tiers is reviewed on December 16.

The latest figures prompted Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell to say it was ‘unfair’ her city was in a higher tier than London. The most recent data for Manchester reveals the rate of infection is about 166 cases per 100,000 people – now slightly lower than the capital.

Photographs taken in central London over the weekend showed hordes of shoppers on crowded streets. It is thought this could result in a further rise in the R rate in about a week’s time.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan warned: ‘We can’t act in a way that inadvertently leads to a surge in this virus.’

A health source said Public Health England is ‘starting to get worried’ by London’s rising cases.

The insider told the Daily Telegraph there was ‘concern across the system’ regarding the number of Londoners out at the weekend.

The data showed infections rose in two-thirds of London boroughs. In Haringey, positive tests surged by 47 per cent in the week ending December 2, despite the national lockdown still being in place.

Meanwhile, Bromley saw its infection rate rise by 40 per cent in the last week of lockdown, alongside spikes of 25 per cent or more in Bexley, Hackney, Harrow, Kingston and Merton.

Mr Khan told Sky News: ‘If London were to go into Tier Three it would be catastrophic to those industries already really crippling under the Covid pandemic.

‘That could mean many shops going bust, many bars, pubs and restaurants going bust. We’re keen to make sure we stay in Tier Two.’

Public Health England data showed that 20 of London’s boroughs have higher infection rates than the England average.

Meanwhile, there are fears Wales may end up in another lockdown as the number of Covid-19 patients has soared to a record high. There are now more than 1,800 patients in Welsh hospitals with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, 400 more than the previous peak in April.

Companies have returned more than half a billion pounds worth of furlough cash that they should not have claimed or did not need, officials revealed yesterday.

Penny Ciniewicz of HMRC told the Treasury select committee: ‘We’ve had around £504million made in terms of voluntary disclosures and corrections, including people who were entitled to the grant and decided to pay it back.’

‘Hordes of shoppers on crowded streets’