Coronavirus: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan declares ‘major incident’ in city

• ‘Major incident’ declared in London as city hospitals overwhelmed with Covid patients
• The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, made the decision, saying the pandemic was “out of control” in the British capital.
• This follows a National Health Service briefing revealing London hospitals are just two weeks from breaking point.
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” in the British capital as the city’s hospitals are on the verge of being overwhelmed by Covid.

Khan said the number of coronavirus patients in the city hospital had increased by nearly a third in the last week alone, with total hospitalizations now one-third above the peak of the first wave of the pandemic last spring.

Major incidents are defined by the town hall as an event with “a range of serious consequences which require the establishment of special arrangements by one or more emergency response agencies”.

They have already been declared in London in response to the terrorist attacks on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge and the Grenfell fire.

Khan’s move follows an information leak from the National Health Service on Thursday, revealing hospitals in the capital were only two weeks from breaking point.

“The situation in London is now critical with the virus spreading out of control,” Khan said.

“We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at the point of crisis. If we don’t take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.”

Leaders of the city’s local authorities have urged Londoners to stay at home.

“Cases are increasing at a dangerous rate in London, putting extreme pressure on the NHS,” Georgia Gould, chair of the London Councils, said in a statement.

“One in 30 Londoners now owns Covid. This is why London utilities are urging all Londoners to stay home except for absolutely essential shopping and exercise.”

The mayor wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to call for a package of additional financial support for Londoners who need to self-isolate as well as a new ban on going to places of worship and new laws to force the port masks outside the home.