London declares 'major incident' with hospitals at risk of Covid deluge
- by Joy Garcia
- in Medicine
- — Jan 10, 2021
He said the NHS in London is at risk of being "overwhelmed", adding that the situation in the Capital is "critical" as hospitals could run out of beds for patients in the coming weeks.
London is also now recording 100 Coronavirus deaths a day, a figure which has steadily risen since mid-December.
"We have the winter season and the virus survives longer in the cold, plus people spend more time indoors and we know aerosol transmission, which happens indoors, is a very big source of transmission for this virus". But it is still only half of the daily counts seen during the first wave, when up to 200 patients were succumbing to the illness each day.
England, much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to be under strict national measures, with stay-at-home orders in place for most people.
The Government said a further 1,325 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the United Kingdom total to 79,833.
Separate figures collated by the Department of Health also show cases in London have started to plateau.
According to the leaked NHS England cancer resilience plan, London needs to treat more than 500 cancer patients a week to stay on top of demand, but only 122 cancer cases were treated in the city's NHS hospitals this week, with another 101 being seen in private hospitals.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson added: "I know the previous year has taken its toll - but your compliance is now more vital than ever".
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Prof Whitty said: "Vaccines give clear hope for the future, but for now we must all stay home, protect the NHS and save lives".
"The entirety of the health service in London is mobilising to do everything it possibly can, but the infections, the rate of growth in admissions, that is what collectively the country has got to get under control", Stevens said. "Not just me. I think probably most of the people I talk to, epidemiologists, and medical scientists and virologists".
The UK's total virus-related death toll is now 78,508.
People are also being warned to act as if they have the virus amid fears people are beginning to tire from measures, such as social distancing, which can reduce the spread of the disease.
The total number of COVID-19 cases identified in London is 480,650 as of 07 January 2021.
More than half of all major hospital trusts in England now have more Covid-19 patients than at the peak of the first wave.
The emergence of a new, more infectious strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom in December has triggered a significant spike in transmission rates across the country, despite existing social distancing measures and tight restrictions on gatherings.
The number of patients in London's hospitals has grown by 27 percent over the last week and the number on ventilators has increased by 42 percent.
