1 in 30 in London infected by Covid-19, London mayor declares major incident
1 in 30 in London infected by Covid-19, London mayor declares major incident
London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a “major incident,″ as the rapid spread of the virus pushed hospitals to breaking point, with the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients up 27 per cent in the week to January 6.
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UPDATED: January 9, 2021 04:10 IST
A London Transport famous red bus London passing a Covid-19 sign during England s third national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, in London, Friday (AP)
London’s mayor declared the capital’s Covid-19 situation to be critical Friday, reflecting deteriorating conditions for beleaguered hospitals, as the country recorded its highest daily death toll in the pandemic.
Other emergency services are also under strain, with hundreds of firefighters now driving ambulances, for example. “Our heroic doctors, nurses and NHS staff are doing an amazing job, but with cases rising so rapidly, our hospitals are at risk of being overwhelmed,” Khan said. “The stark reality is that we will run out of beds for patients in the next couple of weeks unless the spread of the virus slows down drastically.” A major incident is defined as one in which there is a risk to life and welfare and is “beyond the scope of business-as-usual operations.” It allows coordination between different emergency agencies and will let London ask for help from other areas.
Covid 19 coronavirus: London mayor seeks help as UK sees record new virus deaths
8 Jan, 2021 06:20 PM
4 minutes to read
By: Danica Kirka and Jill Lawless, Associated Press
London s mayor declared the capital s Covid-19 situation to be critical on Friday, reflecting deteriorating conditions for beleaguered hospitals, as the country recorded its highest daily death toll in the pandemic.
The grim news that another 1325 people had died within 28 days of a positive test came hours after the UK regulator authorised a third vaccine for emergency use. The figure brings Britain s official death toll from the coronavirus to 79,833, the highest in Europe. Not all the deaths announced by the government on Friday occurred on the same day.
Science’
s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.
As the COVID-19 pandemic surges, fueled in some places by new, fast-spreading variants, officials and public health experts are debating strategies for stretching limited supplies of vaccines. And vaccinemakers have been caught in the middle. Over the past week, one has endorsed a U.K. decision to extend the interval between an initial priming vaccine dose and the booster shot to up to 12 weeks. Another has pushed back. The maker of a third COVID-19 vaccine has so far stayed silent on yet another plan, floated by the scientist heading the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine effort but opposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to stretch supply by halving both its prime and booster doses.
Science s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation
Last-minute vaccine dosing changes that could gamble away proven COVID-19 protection and undermine public trust. Controversial approvals without any efficacy data. Vaccinemakers at odds with countries hosting their clinical trials. The COVID-19 vaccine landscape keeps changing almost daily, simultaneously raising hopes and triggering confusion and scientific debates. “It s crazy,” says vaccine researcher John Moore of Weill Cornell Medicine. “Every morning, it s just, ‘What s going on?’”
Over the past few weeks, COVID-19 vaccines developed in the United Kingdom, China, and India moved toward widespread rollout, offering new weapons in the face of fast-spreading viral variants that threaten to deepen the crisis (see p. 108). But many came with controversies, and U.K. regulators sparked a debate when they endorsed a sharp departure from the expected dosing schedule for a new