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Sadiq Khan reportedly warned Boris Johnson that London needs to have coronavirus restrictions in place on Monday to avoid a large spike in cases.
The Mayor of London is in favor of new restrictions, including 10pm curfews in bars, to stop the spread of the disease.
He is also said to be preparing to urge Londoners to work from home if they can.
Such a move would be in stark contrast to the government, which until recently has been urging people to return to their offices following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
Matt Hancock also said Sunday that the introduction of new lockdown restrictions in London in a few days cannot be ruled out.
The health secretary said he had spoken with Khan over the weekend about the necessary measures in the capital.
When asked if employees at the London office could be advised to work from home sometime next week, Hancock told Times Radio: “Well, I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Speaking to HuffPost, mayor sources said London was only “two to three days behind” the Covid-19 hotspots in the North West and North East of England, which are now under new restrictions.
A source at the city hall told the news website: “It is clear that the cases in London are only moving in one direction, we are now only a few days from the hotspots in the North West and North East. We cannot afford any further delays. .
“Introducing new measures now will help slow the spread of the virus and potentially avoid the need for a more complete lockdown as we saw in March, which could seriously damage the economy once again.”
It comes after the UK recorded a surge of 4,422 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, after Johnson warned that a second wave of the disease had arrived.
Speaking to reporters late Friday, the prime minister said it was “inevitable” that cases would spike again in the UK.
Just hours after Johnson’s comments, Khan warned that it is “increasingly likely” that restrictions will be needed in the capital soon.
He said he was of the “firm opinion” that action must be taken before the virus spirals out of control.
In a statement, he said he had held an emergency meeting with the leaders of the London council, the Government and Public Health England (PHE) to discuss next steps.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had a “strong opinion” that action must be taken before the virus spiraled out of control (PA).
Khan added: “The Prime Minister has said that we are now seeing the start of a second wave of Covid-19 across the UK.
“Londoners should also know that I am extremely concerned about the most recent evidence I have seen today from public health experts about the accelerating rate at which Covid-19 is now spreading here in London.
“It is increasingly likely that, in London, additional measures will soon be required to slow the spread of the virus.
“We will consider some of the measures that have already been imposed in other parts of the UK.
“I am of the firm opinion that we should not wait, as it did six months ago, for this virus to spiral out of control again before taking action.
“The best for both public health and the economy are new restrictions imposed early, rather than a total lockdown when it is too late, but the government must urgently ensure that there is a fully operational testing system.”
