Mayor warns London faces new restrictions ‘very soon’
London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that the capital faces fresh lockdown restrictions “very soon” to quell a rapid rise in infections.
Khan said it is “highly likely” that Londoners will face further measures to stem the spread of the virus ”because cases are rising so quickly across the city”.
It comes as the number of new coronavirus cases in the city hit more than 7,700 last week, after five London boroughs tipped past the 100 cases per 100,000 mark in the week to 8 October.
“Covid-19 cases are increasing in London. We know our city is at a crucial stage in our fight against coronavirus,” Khan said today.
“Please don’t ignore the warnings from the experts. Follow the rules, wear a face mask, wash your hands and stay a safe distance from others. We can turn this around,” he added.
London could be designated as a “medium risk” under the government’s new three-tier system to tackle coronavirus due to be announced today.
It means the capital could see a city-wide ban on social mixing between households among a swathe of new restrictions to curb a recent spike in infections.
It comes as large portions of the North of England face sweeping new measures as soon as this week, with pubs, restaurants and night-time businesses likely to be shuttered for several weeks.
MPs in London boroughs worst-affected from coronavirus last week told Morning Wire the government had “kept MPs in the dark” over plans to introduce new restrictions, and called on ministers to introduce further lockdown measures across the city.
Sam Tarry, MP for Ilford South in Redbridge — London’s fifth-worst affected borough — warned that the that Redbridge’s infection rate is “actually a lot worse” than the official 68.1 per 100,000 figure, and that the same was likely true for the rest of London.
Fellow Redbridge MP Wes Streeting slammed the government’s testing scheme as a “shambles”, telling Morning Wire that a London lockdown was “inevitable” if the capital’s track and trace system is not improved.