London Covid cases halve in two weeks — and 999 calls drop too

COVID-19 cases in London have halved in 16 days from a second wave peak of more than 100,000 a week, official figures reveal today.

There were 50,067 confirmed cases in the week to January 20, down from 100,211 in the week to January 4. In another positive move, London Ambulance Service said it had moved off its highest alert level and was now reaching the most serious 999 emergencies within the seven-minute NHS target.

The number of Covid-19 inpatients in London hospitals is down 900 in a week to just over 7,000, while the numbers being admitted each day has fallen to 520 — the fewest since Christmas Eve.

But the devastating impact of the pandemic in terms of lives lost was laid bare by the Office for National Statistics, which today said that 1,272 Londoners had died with coronavirus in the week to January 15. More than half of all 2,346 deaths in the capital in that week involved Covid-19, with the London death toll an astonishing 84 per cent higher than normal for the time of year.

This vividly demonstrates how recent reductions in case numbers will take several weeks before

they result in a reduction in deaths. NHS figures on new cases of Covid-19 showed that the seven-day rate in the capital has fallen from a high of 1,118.2 new infections per 100,000 Londoners early this month to 558.7.

The news will raise hopes that the city is increasingly winning the battle against the virus, with 3,836 cases announced yesterday, dramatically lower than earlier this month. The figures show:

• There were 19,004 fewer confirmed cases in the week to January 20, compared to the previous week.

• A total of 30 out of 32 boroughs saw cases fall by at least a fifth, with Kensington and Chelsea having the biggest drop of 39.6 per cent.

• Cases are falling quicker in a swathe of east London than other areas. Latest figures show they were down 34.9 per cent in Tower Hamlets, Southwark 34.3 per cent, Barking and Dagenham 33.6 per cent, Newham 32.7 per cent, Lewisham 31.5 per cent, and Hackney and City of London 29.9 per cent.

• Some 22 boroughs still have a seven-day rate of more than 500 new infections per 100,000, and five of more than 700; Hounslow 785.2, Ealing 771.2, Brent 751.1, Barking and Dagenham 736, and Newham 714.7.

• Richmond has the lowest seven-day rate at 292.4, followed by Kensington and Chelsea on 339.5, Camden 352.9, Westminster 363.9, and Kingston 394.9.

• A further 25,486 first dose Covid-19 jabs were announced yesterday to have been administered in the city, taking the total so far to 612,045.

• As of Sunday, 1,220 Covid-19 patients were on ventilators in London.

Yesterday, 106 more Covid-19 deaths were announced for London, taking the total in the city to 12,484.

London Ambulance Service anticipates an “extended period of heightened call numbers and incident demand” but said it had been able to reduce its alert level from four to three.

But a report to today’s board meeting laid bare the strain it faced as “exponential rises” in infection rates before Christmas saw demand on its 111 and 999 systems reach record levels. The number of 999 calls received by LAS rose from 4,305 on November 29 to 8,456 on January 4, “the highest number of contacts received in a day in the trust’s history”.

558.7 Seven-day Covid-19 case rate per 100,000 Londoners, down from a high of 1,118.2