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handful of London boroughs recorded decreases in their Covid rates in the week before Christmas, the latest data reveals.
An Evening Standard analysis of the latest Covid figures reveals that Hackney & City of London, Wandsworth, Islington and Lambeth all recorded small decreases in their weekly Covid rates in the week ending Christmas Eve compared to the previous seven days.
Overall, London’s seven-day cases rate actually fell slightly – from 2,026.8 the previous day to 1,986.4 – the first drop since early November.
However, rates across London remained high – with 14 of the capital’s boroughs reporting rates of at least one in 50 people testing positive during the week.
Despite a small decrease from the previous week, cases in Lambeth were the highest in the capital in the week ending December 24, with 8,623 positive Covid cases.
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The biggest increases were seen in Hillingdon, where cases jumped by 58 per cent, nearby Hounslow, with an increase of 54.7 per cent and Harrow, which recorded a 50.2 per cent increase.
Cases in the UK as a whole are at record daily levels, with 183,037 cases being recorded on Wednesday alone.
It comes as 437 new Covid patients were reported as being admitted to hospitals in London on Monday, the highest daily figure since January 28 this year. This was up by nearly 46 per cent on last Monday’s admissions of 301 patients.
The figure is over the 400 daily admissions benchmark that ministers have reportedly been told is a key threshold before new restrictions are needed.
Some experts have warned that there are higher levels of people being admitted for other reasons and then testing positive for Covid than there were in earlier waves.
However, the pressure on hospitals is increasing, with more than 10,000 Covid patients in hospitals in England as of Wednesday – a figure not reached since March.
NHS bosses have announced the setting up new Nightingale “surge hubs” at hospitals across England including London in a “war footing” against a surge of hospitalisations.
Work on eight ‘hubs’, each with a capacity of around 100 patients, is set to begin as early as this week, according to NHS England.
Trusts are also reportedly being asked to identify other sites, to reach a potential capacity increase of 4,000 ‘super surge’ beds.
Ministers have ruled out new measures in England to deal with rocketing case numbers and increasing hospitalisations before New Year’s.
Fresh restrictions on gatherings were introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after Christmas.
However, the government has not ruled out tougher rules in England early in 2022.
London Covid cases by borough for the seven days up to December 24:
Lambeth – 8,623 cases, down 365 (4.1%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,679.5
Croydon – 8,452 cases, up 2,775 (48.9%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,175.2
Wandsworth – 8,223 cases, down 670 (7.5%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,493.8
Southwark – 8,024 cases, up 553 (7.4%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,507.4
Lewisham – 7,521 cases, up 1,469 (24.3%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,463.4
Bromley – 6,993 cases, up 1,736 (33%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,101.6
Barnet – 6,503 cases, up 1,935 (42.4%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,629.8
Tower Hamlets – 6,448 cases, up 102 (1.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,942.4
Greenwich – 6,370 cases, up 1,454 (29.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,203.9
Hackney and City of London – 6,326 cases, down 683 (9.7%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,167.3
Newham – 6,231 cases, up 1,685 (37.1%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,753.9
Ealing – 5,999 cases, up 1,583 (35.8%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,762.6
Haringey – 5,861 cases, up 1,121 (23.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,200.4
Brent – 5,753 cases, up 1,752 (43.8%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,755.3
Enfield – 5,709 cases, up 1,656 (40.9%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,711.4
Waltham Forest – 5,446 cases, up 1,045 (23.7%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,966.5
Havering – 5,398 cases, up 1,611 (42.5%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,071
Bexley – 5,339 cases, up 1,771 (49.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,141.6
Redbridge – 5,330 cases, up 1,751 (48.9%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,743.8
Islington – 5,168 cases, down 274 (5%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,082.9
Hillingdon – 4,602 cases, up 1,700 (58.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,489.3
Camden – 4,598 cases, up 5 (0.1%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,645
Merton – 4,512 cases, up 827 (22.4%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,185.5
Hounslow – 4,493 cases, up 1,588 (54.7%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,653.3
Sutton – 4,462 cases, up 1,465 (48.9%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,148.2
City of Westminster – 4,392 cases, up 195 (4.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,627.6
Barking & Dagenham – 4,179 cases, up 1,304 (45.4%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,951.8
Hammersmith & Fulham – 4,133 cases, up 45 (1.1%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 2,251.8
Harrow – 3,899 cases, up 1303 (50.2%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,545.1
Richmond Upon Thames – 3,797 cases, up 607 (19%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,916.3
Kingston Upon Thames – 3,142 cases, up 492 (18.6%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,753.9
Kensington & Chelsea – 2,901 cases, up 433 (17.5%) on the previous seven-day period. Case rate per 100,000 of 1,849.4
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-covid-borough-latest-cases-omicron-hospitalisations-b974289.html
