London Coronavirus Deaths Now More than Half of UK Total

Despite having only one-seventh of the UK’s population, London has experienced more than half of all coronavirus fatalities in the country.

The latest figures reveal there have been 289 fatalities in the UK. According to the Evening Standard, 148 of those victims were from London, where the Chinese virus is spreading at a faster rate than the rest of the United Kingdom.

The London newspaper also reports that as many as seven NHS doctors from one London hospital trust may be infected with COVID-19. A source from the University College London Hospitals told the free daily: “That is the tip of the iceberg. They are admitting one patient an hour with Covid… inpatient numbers are increasing by 25 per cent a day.”

Last week, another London hospital, Northwick Park, told its staff that it was declaring a “critical incident” because it did not have enough critical care beds for coronavirus patients and was transferring sufferers to different sites. The critical incident was lifted on Friday, but in the same week Lewisham and Greenwich hospitals trust reportedly had turned away coronavirus patients, sending them on to other local facilities because they were also out of capacity.

Plans are reportedly being drawn up to turn the ExCel Centre in London into a giant field hospital. While one charity, the Britannia Maritime Aid, has called for the Ministry of Defence to reposition a hospital ship to London to alleviate pressure on the city’s NHS facilities. RFA Argus is currently moored in Plymouth and has a capacity of 100 beds.

Containing the virus in the city has been particularly problematic with widespread reporting that some residents are ignoring the government’s recommendations on social distancing, and are thus increasing the risk of spreading the virus.

There have been calls for the government to lock down London before hospitals hit crisis point. A government source said that a city-wide lockdown was “inevitable”, adding: “The sooner you do it the better. The difficulty the government is facing is that the spread of this virus is exponential. We won’t know if what we’re doing is the right thing until it is too late.”

Last week, a government spokesman ruled out enforcing a curfew in London, saying there was “zero prospect” of it happening. However, the prime minister is said to be considering all options, particularly in light of people ignoring isolation requests.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said “people will die” unless they heed scientific advice and stay home.

“I am not someone who says these things lightly but unless people don’t stay at home, if they don’t stop using pubic transport unless it’s essential, unless people will stop interacting with people, more people will die,” he said, extending the message especially to Londoners.

On Friday, Boris Johnson ordered the nationwide shutdown of pubs, restaurants, and gyms, having earlier in the week shut down schools to all pupils apart from the children of key workers, such as doctors and nurses.

Asked on Sky News if the government would go further to enforce social interactions, communities and housing minister Robert Jenrick said that while they “don’t want to go down that route”, he nevertheless said that “this isn’t a game” and people should stop needlessly leaving their homes.

Mr Jenrick said on Sunday: “If people don’t follow that advice, we’ll clearly have to consider other options. But none of us want to go down that route.”