Patients arrive in ambulances at the Royal London Hospital on January 5, 2021 in London, England. The British Prime Minister gave a nationally televised address on Monday evening to announce that England will enter its third conclusion to the Covid-19 pandemic. This week, the UK registered more than 50,000 new confirmed Covid cases for the seventh day in a row.
Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Friday declared a major incident over the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the UK capital.
He had previously warned that the virus was “getting out of control” and that the National Health Service was “about to be overwhelmed.”
“I have declared a major incident in London because the threat this virus poses to our city is at a crisis point,” Khan said via Twitter.
“One in 30 Londoners now has COVID-19. If we don’t take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” he added.
The announcement comes shortly after weekly data up to January 2 showed that the London coronavirus infection rate had risen to 1,038 per 100,000 residents. This figure compares to a citywide infection rate of 818 per 100,000 in the previous week.
In comparison, the national infection rate was 612 per 100,000 for the week ending January 2.
The growing pressure on the city’s already overburdened health facilities coincides with the resurgent spread of Covid-19 as the UK struggles to control a highly contagious variant of the virus.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the third national lockdown for England in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. The measures entered into legal force on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the UK registered 52,618 new cases of the coronavirus, according to official data, and 1,162 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus.
Major incidents have previously been reported following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terror attacks on Westminster Bridge in March 2017 and London Bridge in November 2019.