‘Tipping point’
LONDON PLACED ON WATCHLIST OF PLACES OF HIGH CONCERN OVER THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS
LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan says London has been added to the government’s watchlist of places where it is concerned about the spread of coronavirus.
Mr Khan met with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and London council leaders last week to discuss concerns about rising numbers of coronavirus cases in the capital and an increase in hospital admissions.
He believes delays and problems with getting coronavirus tests mean far more Londoners might currently have the virus than the data makes clear.
In a statement released on Friday September 25, before the official watchlist was released, Mr Khan said: “London is at a very worrying tipping point right now.
“We’re seeing a sharp rise in 111 calls, hospital admissions and patients in ICU.
“The near collapse of test and trace and the resurgence of the virus means new measures to slow its spread were absolutely necessary.
“Testing capacity was diverted away from London in the last two weeks to other national hot spots and weekly testing numbers are now down 43% in the capital since midAugust. The lack of testing capacity is totally unacceptable and it is why London has been added to the government’s coronavirus watchlist as an area of concern.
“Ministers simply have to get a grip. It’s vital that testing capacity is increased immediately in London and focused in the areas it is needed most. Any delay will mean letting the city down and will cost lives.”
The government watchlist outlines areas where the government is concerned about the spread of the virus.
This will be the first week areas of London have been placed on the list since the government started compiling it. Because of problems with testing, daily and weekly numbers of cases of coronavirus can now not be relied upon in highlighting how the virus is spreading.
However, even with these problems, it is clear that parts of London, especially in the east of the capital, are seeing a spike.
Preliminary weekly figures calculated by the PA news agency show that the borough with the highest number of cases per 100,000 residents is Redbridge with 55.7. In the seven days up to September 20, 170 people in Redbridge tested positive for coronavirus.
Barking and Dagenham has the second highest infection rate in the capital with 42.3, while Newham has the third highest with 33.7.
Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest make up the top five, with 29.9 and 29.6 cases per 100,000 residents respectively.
Areas which saw large rises in the number of people testing positive include Hillingdon (90), Southwark (86), Enfield (83), Ealing (82) and Brent (75).
It is at 40.0 cases per 100,000 people that the government has typically stepped in and enforced stricter measures. It remains to be seen if this will happen.