Tier 3 is looming for London with an announcement expected today from the health secretary, Matt Hancock.
As predicted in this paper a week ago swelling crowds in central London and a bustling hospitality industry has made the prospect of another harsh lockdown all but inevitable.
Hancock is expected to deliver the verdict at 3.30pm today with cases now “off the chart”.
CONFIRMED BY SOURCES
— Joe Murphy (@JoeMurphyLondon) December 14, 2020
Covid O meeting chaired by Boris Johnson has just finished.
It discussed London and T3.
Matt Hancock will deliver the verdict at 3.30pm TODAY
My sense is that the numbers are so bad we in London are going into T3
MPs from London and Home Counties including Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Kent have already been briefed by the government as local restaurants, bars and cafes face being shut down.
Thomas Waite, Director of Health Protection at the Joint Biosecurity Centre, delivered the unfortunate news to politicians, saying cases were rising exponentially.
An estimated 4,710 people in London tested on December 11 came back positive for Covid-19 – almost double the 2,402 on December 6.
London hit 225 new cases per 100,000 in the seven days to December 8, up every day since a lockdown low of 155 per 100,000 on November 26.
In Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe has called for schools to close tomorrow and switch to remote learning after an “exponential growth”.
He said the high rates of infection demand “immediate action” in an open letter to families.
Following my earlier statement, here is an open letter to families across @Royal_Greenwich asking schools to close their premises from tomorrow across #greenwich. As a teacher myself, I know how valuable education is but our rates are rising too quickly & action is needed. pic.twitter.com/VClICoCoLQ
— Dan Thorpe (@DanLThorpe) December 13, 2020
More pictures emerged of a packed Regents Street this weekend as people headed out to do their Christmas shopping.
These were taken last week.
Seems this was Regent Street yesterday. Don’t think I’ll be in Central London again till I get jabbed. pic.twitter.com/tMJPdIfSPS
— David Hewson (@david_hewson) December 6, 2020
Shoppers made the most of England's first weekend out of lockdown, with dozens heading to London's Oxford Street to pick up Christmas bargains https://t.co/wX9JFUFiME pic.twitter.com/2gz8moYKTo
— ITV News (@itvnews) December 5, 2020
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