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Opes reinforced today that the devastating second wave of Covid-19 in London is reaching its peak, as 11 districts continued to show drops in the number of cases.
Bromley saw the largest drop in confirmed cases in the week to January 8, 18.3%, followed by Richmond with 18.1%, Kingston with 15.6%, Havering with 14.3%, Sutton with 13.8% and Merton with 11.8%.
There were minor decreases in Tower Hamlets of 5.8%, Redbridge of 4.8%, Barnet of 2.2%, Hackney and the City of London of 1.1% and Enfield of 0.4%.
The figures are particularly volatile at the moment due to the Christmas and New Year holidays and are slightly worse in many areas of the capital compared to the week of January 7, when 14 districts posted declines.
The seven-day rate has risen from 1,007.2 to 1,047.2 new cases per 100,000 Londoners.
However, more areas are expected to experience declines again tomorrow and the seven-day rate is currently below the so far peak of 1,116.5 for the week through Jan 4.
However, the encouraging data on the cases came as the death toll in the 28 days after testing positive for the virus rose to 1,564 in the UK on Wednesday’s deadliest day yet, including 231 in London, taking the total in the capital. up to 10,353.
47,525 new cases were confirmed, including 10,020 in the capital, which, while worryingly high, remains below levels in recent days.
They are facing unprecedented pressure from the coronavirus epidemic, and the Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel Center in the Docklands has been reopened as admissions are expected to increase.
Health chiefs, families of Covid victims and ministers are calling on people to follow the rules to keep the NHS from being overwhelmed and prevent more deaths.
It is concerning that the seven-day rate among Londoners aged 60 and over has risen to 914.7 new cases per 100,000 in the week ending January 8, up from 911.6 on January 4, while among the youngest age group it has dropped from 1,156.8 to 1,073.2.
Even if the second wave has peaked in the capital and other parts of the country, the number of cases may take longer than in the first wave to decrease significantly, as the new variant of the virus spreads more easily.
The Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government, Sir Patrick Vallance, told ITV’s Peston program: “The daily numbers go up a bit, but I think we are now in a position, when you look at the number of infections that we have had in the last few weeks and how this is likely to continue so I don’t think they are going to go down very fast, I’m afraid we are in a period of high death toll that will continue for a few weeks.
“It will not be reduced quickly, even if the measures that are in place now begin to reduce the number of infections.
“So I’m afraid we have a pretty bleak period ahead of us.”
But Sir Patrick said things seemed to be “flattening out” in some areas.
“I think what we know now, that we didn’t know a few weeks ago, was whether these kinds of restrictions would be enough to control this virus with the new variant. And the answer is yes, it seems that it is, and things are at least stabilizing in some places, not all. “
Pharmacies today joined more than 1,000 other vaccination centers, including hospitals, general practitioner centers, and community salons, in the race to deliver the Covid-19 jab to around 14 million people age 70 and older, residents and front-line care, health and social service home workers. care personnel and people particularly vulnerable to the disease.
Britain is one of the leading countries in the proportion of people vaccinated so far, with just over 2.6 million people, however there are concerns that the supply of doses is holding back the launch of jabs.
With the country in its third lockdown, tens of thousands of businesses are threatened, as well as hundreds of thousands of jobs.
The full figures for London show that in Bromley there were 3,073 cases in the week to January 8, 690 (18.3%) down with a rate of 924.7, Richmond 1074 cases, 237 (18.1%) down with a rate of 542.4, Kingston 1250 cases, 231 (15.6%) with a rate of 704.2, 2962 cases, 496 (14.3%) with a rate of 1,141.2, Sutton 1986 cases, 317 ( 13.8%) with a rate of 962.4, 1908 cases Merton, down 256 (11.8%) with a rate of 923.8, Tower Hamlets 3826 cases, down 234 (5.8%) with a rate of 1,178.2, Rebridge 4,210 cases, decreased 214 (4.8%) with a rate of 1,379.3, Barnet 3,943 cases, decreased 89 (2.2%) with a rate of 996, Hackney and City of London 2,672 cases, 31 (1.1%) with a rate of 918.7, and Enfield 4104 cases, 15 (0.4%) with a rate of 1,229.5.
Bexley saw 3,035 cases, 27 (0.9%) with a rate of 1,222.4, Camden 1,850 cases, 42 (2.3%) with a rate of 685.1, Haringey 2,892 cases, 79 (2.8%) with a rate of 1076.5, Westminster 1560 cases, up to 51 (3.4%) with a rate of 597, Islington 1995 cases, up to 70 (3.6%) with a rate of 822.8, Wandsworth 2663 cases, up to 100 (3.9%) with a rate of 807.8, Harrow 2473 cases, up to 92 (3.9%) with a rate of 984.6, Barking and Dagenham 3474 cases, up to 142 (4.3%) with a rate of 1,631.7, Waltham Forest 3,286 cases, up to 136 (4.3%) with a rate of 1,186.4, Hammersmith and Fulham 1,446 cases, up to 74 (5.4%) with a rate of 781, Greenwich 3,277 cases, up to 192 (6.2%) with a rate of 1,138.1 and Hounslow 3,175 cases, up to 205 (6.9%) with a rate of 1,169.3.
In Croydon, there were 4,383 cases, up to 299 (7.3%) with a rate of 1,133.4, Lewisham 3,314 cases, up to 255 (8.3%) with a rate of 1,083.6, Newham 5,233 cases, up to 407 ( 8.4%) with a rate of 1,481.9, Kensington and Chelsea 1,100 cases, up to 111 (11.2%) with a rate of 704.5, Hillingdon 3,313 cases, up to 361 (12.2%) with a rate of 1,079.6, Brent 3,721 cases, up to 438 (13.3%) with a rate of 1,128.4, Lambeth 3,305 cases, up to 438 (15.3%) with a rate of 1,013.7, Southwark 3,444 cases, up 496 (16.8%) with a rate of 1,080.2, and Ealing 3,901 cases, up to 762 (24.3%) with a rate of 1,141.3.
