Is London about to go into Tier 3?

PM puts capital on notice and urges discipline over the rules

Fears were growing last night that London could be placed into Tier 3 before Christmas after both Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock issued a warning to the capital to obey coronavirus rules.

The latest figures out yesterday showed infections rising in 21 of the capital’s 32 boroughs – indicating London could be placed into the highest tier of restrictions when they are reviewed next Wednesday.

such a move would force pubs and restaurants to close, with serious knock-on effects for the capital’s economy.

However, many MPs and business leaders are fiercely resisting the idea, and they pointed out that the picture is complicated.

Most of the rise in cases revealed in the figures happened before lockdown ended last Wednesday, meaning it has not been caused by a relaxation of rules as the city moved into Tier 2.

also, just a week earlier, cases had been falling in 30 of the boroughs. Moreover, the recent rise in cases has not fed through so far into a sharp uptick in hospital admissions or deaths.

experts have suggested that the rise in London is being driven by cases in young people – and because of an increase in ‘noncompliance’ with the rules. Localised outbreaks are also thought be pushing cases up, including in schools.

Business leaders have warned that putting London under the most severe Covid restrictions could wipe billions of pounds off the economy. But in a video released on Twitter yesterday, the Prime Minister appeared to put the capital on notice, saying: ‘If you look at what’s happening in London, for instance, we are seeing that disease starting to climb again in spite of all the efforts we’ve made.’

He said it was ‘vital’ that residents keep their ‘discipline’ as vaccinations are rolled out.

a government source added that Mr Johnson was ‘concerned’ by scenes of crowded Christmas shopping streets in London and other cities at the weekend.

‘The Prime Minister is very concerned that people continue to follow the rules,’ the source said. ‘We are not there yet and we were very concerned by some of the scenes of crowding that we saw over the weekend.

‘People have to keep following the rules because we don’t want the virus to come back and we don’t want to have to tighten restrictions further.’

asked on LBC radio yesterday whether London was close to going into Tier 3, Mr Hancock warned that higher infection rates lead to higher deaths.

‘My message to everybody in London is “let’s stick by the rules” and not push the boundaries of the rules, but rather try to limit the spread of this infection because the case numbers are going up in parts of London, in parts of essex, in parts of Kent.’

Ministers will start to examine the Covid figures in detail in a week, with any changes to tiers taking place on December 16.

a spokesman for sadiq Khan, the London mayor, said: ‘The number-one way to look out for our loved ones and support local businesses this festive season is to follow the rules and do all we can to avoid going back into tougher restrictions later this month or any time in the future.’

In London, cases are understood to be rising more sharply in the under- 18s, with a number of school outbreaks, and also in the over-60s.

The increase in the older age group is worrying because these people are more likely to suffer severe disease, to be hospitalised and to die with coronavirus.

Hospital admissions in the capital have shown a small rise since the start of the month – up from 160 on December 1 to 179 on 6th.

Haringey in north London saw 465 cases in the seven days to December 2, up by 148 on the previous week. In Bromley, in the south, there were 568 cases, up 163, and in Hackney and the City there were 481 cases, up by 119.