Sadiq Khan has warned tougher lockdown measures in London are ‘inevitable’ after Richmond-upon-Thames became the capital’s new Covid-19 hotspot.
The London Mayor said any new restrictions would be imposed city-wide rather than borough-by-borough because ‘it’s the most effective way to reduce the spread of this virus’.
Mr Khan said his best guess was that London would be hit with new rules sometime next week when the Government officially unveils its three-tier traffic light system for local lockdowns.
He warned it was important to curtail the virus’s spread in the city before the pandemic gets to levels ‘we saw in March and April’.
Figures show London’s infection rate is just 59 per 100,000 people, which is the same as it is UK-wide.
Mr Khan told LBC Radio today: ‘My prediction is there will be more restrictions being brought in because we don’t want to see in October and November what we saw in March and April.
‘What’s clear to me is that it’s inevitable there will be additional restrictions in London. What we are discussing as ‘One London’ is what we think the right level should be and work with government to make sure we have the right level there.’
It comes as Richmond became London’s new Covid-19 hotspot after recording 112.1 new cases per 100,000 people in the week to October 5, double the 44.9 in the previous week.
A total of 222 people were diagnosed in Richmond during the seven-day spell – twice as many as the week before when 89 people tested positive.
But Richmond Council has called for an urgent review of the Government’s data before additional measures are placed on the borough, which is home to 190,000 people.
It claims that at least a quarter of cases actually tested positive in other parts of England, such as Leeds, Exeter, Manchester and Durham, which may be university students who have moved away from London but still have a home address there.
