The spread of Covid in London is "out of control" according to Sadiq Khan, who has declared a "major incident".
The coronavirus infection rate in London has exceeded 1,000 per 100,000 people, based on the latest figures from Public Health England.
However, the Office for National Statistics recently estimated
as many as 1 in 30 Londoners has coronavirus.
Mr Khan told BBC political reporter Karl Mercer that the figure is as high as 1 in 20 in some parts of London.
Major incidents have previously been called for the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and the terror attacks at Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.
'My heart is broken'
A major incident is any emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or all of the emergency services, the NHS or the local authority.
It means the emergency services and hospitals cannot guarantee their normal level of response.
Currently, there are more than 7,000 people in hospital with Covid-19, the mayor said.
This is a 35% increase compared to last April's peak of the pandemic, he added.
Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, a senior intensive care registrar at Royal London Hospital, tweeted: "We tried. We really tried. NHS staff pleaded with people that Christmas is not worth it. Now one in 30 people in London have Covid and ICUs are overwhelmed. My heart is broken."
Full article -
Covid-19: 'Major incident' declared by London Mayor Sadiq Khan - BBC News
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