[ad_1]
Covid-19 cases are falling in 19 out of 32 London borough areas, official figures reveal today in a rare burst of good news during the epidemic crisis.
The widespread declines in the capital are an encouraging sign that the increase in cases is starting to stabilize.
In 11 of the districts, the drops in Covid cases are more than 10 percent. London Mayor Sadiq Khan believes the city is “seeing early signs that the rise in infections in the capital has started to slow.”
However, the virus is still believed to be spreading among those over 60 and hospitalizations are increasing, almost certainly leading to more deaths.
London’s seven-day Covid rolling rate is 146.2 cases per 100,000 residents, as of October 30, with 13,103 new cases for the week.
The drop in confirmed cases in so many counties will inevitably raise questions about whether London should be under national lockdown to control the disease, or whether this is already happening with more people working from home and Level 2 measures are starting to have an impact. . .
It has emerged that new restrictions during the four-week lockdown that began today will hit London’s economy to the tune of £ 6bn.
However, health chiefs believe the capital has a chance to put the virus into retreat if all Londoners adhere to the new rules.
Professor Kevin Fenton, England’s Director of Public Health in London, said: “Londoners have a history of working together in times of need and it is important that we do the same again so that these weeks really count.”
Kingston has seen the biggest drop in confirmed cases, down 28.3 percent (or 104 cases) to 264 in the week through Oct. 30, compared to the previous seven days.
Its seven-day sliding rate is 148.7 per 100,000 people, according to figures from Public Health England.
The drop in Kensington & Chelsea is from 21.4% (53) to 195, with a rate of 124.9, in Camden it is from 18.1% (63) to 286, with a rate of 105.9, and in Hackney and City of London the drop is 16.8 percent (88) to 436, with a rate of 149.9.
At Ealing, the decline is 16.4%, Southwark 15.7%, Wandsworth 15.4%, Barnet 13.3%, Bromley 13.2% and Haringey 11.4%. In Richmond the drop is 10.9%, Hammersmith & Fulham 8.5%, Brent 8.5%, Hounslow 4.5%, Enfield 4.4%, Islington 3.8%, Sutton 3.3%, Tower Hamlets 2.8% and Lewisham 2.2 percent.
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “Thanks to the efforts of Londoners we are seeing initial signs that the increase in infections in the capital has started to decline, however, cases remain high and the number of patients in hospitals and fans continues to lift.
“That is why it is critical that all Londoners do their part and follow the latest government restrictions.”
At Harrow, they were up 0.3 percent (one) to 369 and a rate of 146.9; at Westminster by 0.8 percent (three) at 391 and a rate of 149.6, and at Redbridge by one percent (six) at 583 and a rate of 191.
Three districts saw single-digit increases in confirmed cases, Harrow, Westminster and Redbridge, while ten saw larger increases, including Newham, Hillingdon, Croydon, Lambeth, Barking & Dagenham, Merton, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Bexley and Havering.
Confirmed cases are only one indicator of the level of the disease and the actual number of cases is estimated to be two to three times higher.
There is a natural fluctuation in the numbers, so it is too early to say that cases are now trending down.
Some of the data, particularly from wealthy districts, could be significantly affected by students from these areas testing positive at universities in other parts of the country but being treated as local cases due to a reporting error.
The positivity rate, the proportion of people who test positive among those tested, is believed to continue to rise in around two-thirds of the districts and to decrease in about a third of the districts, and for the capital as a whole it is around 7.7 percent.
Downing Street defended a new national blockade that will take effect today despite the slowdown in the infection rate in the capital.
Asked about the falls in new cases in many parts of the city, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We have been making progress, the measures we had have helped keep the R (infection rate) low.
“But we believe that we have to introduce these stricter national measures to go further and do more to protect the NHS.”
When asked if the blockade had been introduced too early, he replied: “No.
“You have seen the projections … about the pressures facing the NHS … the Prime Minister considered it absolutely imperative to impose these stricter national measures to further control the infection rate.”
He stressed that the three-tier system had helped reduce the natural rate of Covid infection from around 2.7 to three to 1.1 to 1.3.
“But an R above 1 means that the virus continues to spread and also what we are trying to address here is preventing this virus from spreading to older generations, people who are more likely to be hospitalized and more likely to end up in intensive care. and unfortunately, they are more likely to lose their lives, “he explained.
He added that the plan for the end of the shutdown on December 2 was for a “return to a regionalized and tiered approach”, with more details to be presented to parliament in the days before deputies can vote on them.
There were 990 Covid-19 patients in London hospitals on November 3, compared to 792 on October 27, and there were 145 Covid-19 patients on mechanical ventilation beds in London hospitals on November 3, in compared to 118 patients on November 27.
Coronavirus rates in London are well below hotspots in the North and Midlands, but there have also been drops in confirmed cases from very high levels in some other Level 3 areas, including Liverpool and Nottingham.
In the Northwest, confirmed cases have dropped to 30,270 cases in the most recent seven days, from 33,093 the previous week, but last night’s daily figure of 5,020 was a higher daily average than in the past fortnight.
In the Northeast, cases fell from 8,183 to 7,608, but in the West Midlands they increased from 13,501 to 16,027 and in Yorkshire and the Humber they rose from 21,533 to 22,468.
The weekly ONS infection study, which is published every Friday at lunchtime, is considered a “gold standard” for all cases, as it shows people not being tested (because they don’t have symptoms or can’t or can get one) don’t bother), and last week he said infections were on the rise across the country, with the possible exception of the Northeast.
Government medical and scientific heads have faced mounting questions about the data being presented to the public and Medical Director Chris Whitty admitted to MPs that coronavirus cases are declining across all ages in Liverpool, previously appearing to suggest that they were increasing among older people.
Professor Yvonne Doyle, PHE’s director of health protection, defended the models used to justify England’s second national lockdown after former Prime Minister Theresa May questioned her estimates of 4,000 deaths per day this winter.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the Commons’ rebellion against a second national lockdown in England had been “quite limited.”
Wednesday’s vote saw 32 Conservatives defy the whip, while Ms May abstained.
Buckland told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “The decision made by the Commons reflects the vast majority of the public who support this approach, who do not want to see a series of stop-and-go measures that not only disrupt life and well-being. but the economy. “
The death rate from the disease is expected to be lower in the second wave than in the first medical advances made in treating patients.
An additional 26 Londoners were reported yesterday to have died of covid, out of 492 deaths across the UK.
The number of Londoners who have died in the 28 days after a positive COVID test is now 6,510. The death toll in the capital rose to 85 in the last week of October, more than double the 41 in the previous fortnight.
