Major Incident Declared In London Over Surge In Omicron Cases

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a major incident in the capital over the surge in new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

He said: "In the last 24 hours, we have had the largest number of new cases since the pandemic began, more than 26,000.

"Hospital admissions are going up but also staff absences are going up by massive levels, so I have taken the decision, along with our partners, to declare a major incident."

A major incident is defined as a situation that is 'beyond the scope of business-as-usual operations, and is likely to involve serious harm, damage, disruption or risk to human life or welfare, essential services, the environment or national security'.

Khan continued: "The Omicron variant has quickly become dominant with cases increasing rapidly and the number of patients in our hospitals with Covid-19 on the rise again.

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“We are already feeling the impact across the capital and while we are still learning about this variant, it’s right that London’s key agencies work closely together to minimise the impact on our city, including helping to protect the vital vaccination programme.

“We know that the vaccine offers our best defence against the virus.

"There are now more clinics in London delivering vaccines than at any point during the pandemic.

"I urge all Londoners to book their appointment or to go to one of the many walk-in centres across the capital as soon as you can."

The last time Khan declared a major incident in London was 8 January as Covid-19 cases reached 1,000 in every 100,000 people in the city.

This was stood down on 26 February as cases fell.

More than 10,000 new confirmed cases of the Omicron variant were reported today in the UK, bringing the total cases to 24,968.

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The UK Health Security Agency added that the number of hospital admissions in England for patients with confirmed or suspected Omicron rose to 85 from 65 today.

Seven people infected with Omicron have died in England.

This comes as plans are reportedly being drawn up for a 'two-week lockdown' and a ban on indoor socialising.

According to The Times, officials are looking at introducing a new 'Step 2' set of rules, which would mean that people would only be allowed to meet indoors for work.

It would also see the return of the 'Rule of Six' for outdoor meetings and the most vulnerable told to shield once again - though schools would remain open.

A government spokesperson told LADbible: "The government will continue to look closely at all the emerging data and we’ll keep our measures under review as we learn more about this variant."

Topics: UK News, Coronavirus

Simon Fearn

Simon is a sub-editor at LADbible. He studied journalism at City, University of London, and has written for Digital Spy, The Stage and The Drinks Business. He's a big fan of low budget horror films, regular caffeine hits and extended arguments about Oxford commas. You can contact Simon at [email protected].

@smffearn