London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” in the city as coronavirus cases increase and threaten to overwhelm the city’s hospitals, according to reports.
The mayor hoped the statement would help speed up assistance to the National Health Service (NHS), which he described as “about to be overwhelmed” and run out of beds.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, speaks during a vigil at the Guildhall Yard in London on Monday to remember how the London Bridge stabbed victims and honored members of the emergency services and bystanders who fought the attacker.
(AP)
“If we do not act immediately now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people would die,” Khan said in a statement. “Londoners are still making great sacrifices and I urge them today to please stay at home unless it is absolutely essential that you leave.”
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“Stay at home to protect yourself, your family, friends and other Londoners and to protect our NHS.”
The statement does not provide the mayor or authorities with additional powers, but it does provide easier coordination and the ability to demand more help from Westminster, according to the Guardian.
More than anything, the move is seen as a symbolic way to make Londoners aware of how bad the situation is in their city.
Khan told BBC reporter Karl Mercer that the number of Londoners with COVID-19 in some parts of London was up to 1 in 20, while the National Statistics Office called the estimate at 1 in 30.
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Khan also claims that there are more than 7,000 people in the hospital with COVID-19, which is a 35% increase over the previous peak.