Patients arrive by ambulance at the Royal London Hospital on January 5, 2021 in London, England. The British Prime Minister addressed a national television speech on Monday evening, announcing that England will enter the third blockade of the covid-19 pandemic. This week, the UK registered more than 50,000 new cases confirmed by Covid for the seventh day in a row.
Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images
LONDON – London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday there was a major incident over the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the UK capital.
He previously warned that the virus was “out of control” and that the National Health Service was “about to be overwhelmed.”
“We have declared a major incident in London because the threat this virus poses to our city is in a time of crisis,” Khan said on Twitter.
“One in 30 Londoners now has COVID-19. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die,” he added.
The announcement comes shortly after weekly data until January 2 found that the rate of coronavirus infection in London had risen to 1,038 per 100,000 inhabitants. This figure compares to a citywide infection rate of 818 per 100,000 in the previous week.
By comparison, the national infection rate was 612 per 100,000 for the week ending January 2.
The increased pressure on the already tense health units in the city coincides with the invigorating spread of Covid-19, as the United Kingdom struggles to contain an extremely infectious variant of the virus.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the third national blockade for England, in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. The measures went into effect on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the UK recorded 52,618 new cases of coronavirus, according to official data, and 1,162 deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the virus.
Major incidents have been reported previously following the June 2017 Grenfell Tower fire and the terrorist attacks on the Westminster Bridge in March 2017 and on the London Bridge in November 2019.