London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a major incident, as cases of the new strain of coronavirus surge in the UK capital. Khan warns that hospitals in London could soon be overwhelmed.
“The stark reality is that we will run out of beds for patients in the next couple of weeks unless the spread of the virus slows down drastically,” Khan told AFP and urged for greater support from the UK government.
“We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” he added. Declaring a major incident calls for special requirements to be made for emergency response.
One in 30 Londoners is estimated to be infected with the virus. Last week, the number of patients in the capital's hospitals grew by 27 per cent and over the last week, the number of patients on ventilators has increased by 42 per cent.
COVID-19 cases in London has exceeded 1,000 per 100,000 population, AFP reported. On Friday, the country reported 1,325 people died of the virus, its highest daily toll.
“The number of cases in London has increased rapidly with more than a third more patients being treated in our hospitals now compared to the peak of the pandemic last April,” Khan added, as he requested citizens to stick to lockdown rules. England is under strict lockdown, with people leaving homes only to buy essential goods and exercise in their neighbourhood.
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“I am today imploring them to please stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary for you to leave. Stay at home to protect yourself, your family, friends and other Londoners and to protect our NHS,” Khan said.
