Covid-19 infections in south London are rising drastically in the run-up to Christmas, the latest government data has shown.
Driven by the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant, the latest figures published on the government's Covid dashboard showed sharp increases in every south London borough in the seven days up to December 15.
The figures arrived amid discussions on introducing further Covid restrictions to help curb the alarmingly fast spread of the virus.
Scientists with the government advisory SAGE group reportedly told the government that the UK could face up to two million cases daily by January if no new restrictions are introduced, with grave concerns over the ability of the NHS to cope without the support that more Covid-related measures would offer.
On whether a lockdown is being considered over Christmas, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday (December 20): "I appreciate there’s a great deal of speculation over the weekend, and indeed today, about what, if any, further measures may be required.
"At this point, we’re still monitoring the data and keeping a very close eye on it, as the Deputy Prime Minister said this morning. We’d update if any further decisions are taken."
He said he had nothing further to add on whether any measures would come in before or after Christmas, telling reporters: "We’ve introduced Plan B, we’ve seen big jumps in our booster campaign – which is great to see – and we’ll be monitoring both the impact of Plan B and boosters, and also gathering further data on the characteristics of this variant.
"We are monitoring that extremely regularly and update as required."
Below is a list of the number of new Covid-19 cases, percentage change and infection rate per 100,000 people for every south London borough in the seven days up to December 15 according to government data.
Bexley: Cases 2,786, +94.1 per cent, infection rate 1,117.5
Bromley: Cases 4,187, +97.6 per cent, infection rate 1,258.3
Greenwich: Cases 3,908, +114.6 per cent, infection rate 1,352.1
Dartford: Cases 1,305, +59.7 per cent, infection rate 1,144.2
Lewisham: Cases 4,630, +145.6 per cent, infection rate 1,516.5
Southwark: Cases 5,767, +199.1 per cent, infection rate 1,802.1
Croydon: Cases 4,453, +103.7 per cent, infection rate 1,146.0
Sutton: Cases 2,399, +61 per cent, infection rate 1,155
Merton: Cases 2,845, +127.4 per cent, infection rate 1,378
Lambeth: Cases 6,774, +231.4 per cent, infection rate 2,104.9
Wandsworth: Cases 6,676, +219 per cent, infection rate 2,024.7
Richmond: Cases 2,462, +77.2 per cent, infection rate 1,242.5
Kingston: Cases 2,169, +97 per cent, infection rate 1,210.8
Epsom and Ewell: Cases 911, +72.5 per cent, infection rate 1,124.6
Reigate and Banstead: Cases 1,808, +33.8 per cent, infection rate 1,211.4
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