London’s Mayor Declares Emergency Over COVID-19 Spread
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said the city is in crisis because of a big surge in COVID-19 cases. One in 30 people in London have the virus.
The UK reported its highest number of deaths from COVID-19 on Friday. A total of 1,325 people died after testing positive for the virus in just 24 hours. This is the biggest one-day death toll ever recorded in the country.
A more contagious version of the virus was discovered in December and has caused a big increase in infections across the UK. Every day in January so far, over 50,000 new cases have been reported. The highest number of new cases, 62,000, was reported on Wednesday.
The mayor said that one in 30 Londoners having COVID-19 is a serious threat to the city’s health service. He warned that if action isn’t taken right away, more people may die and the NHS could be overwhelmed.
London is now under a “major incident” declaration, which means emergency services will get extra help to cope with the crisis.