Omicron Spreads, London Announces ‘Major Incident’ Status
LONDON — London Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” status for his region. This follows the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 variant.
“The surge in cases of the Omicron variant across the capital is very worrying. So we once again declare a major incident due to the threat of Covid-19 to our city.
Major incidents are defined as events with serious consequences that require the application of special measures. The goal is to help relevant authorities support each other in order to reduce service disruptions in the city.
Khan said that currently key institutions in London Law are working closely together to minimize the impact of the spread of Omicron on the city. “That includes helping protect important vaccination programs,” Khan said.
On January 8, Khan announced a major incident following a sharp spike in new cases of Covid-19. He canceled his order a month later as infection rates fell. More than 65,000 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in London over the past week.
A total of 26,418 cases were reported in the last 24 hours (17-18 December). It was the highest daily number of infections London has recorded since the start of the pandemic. So far the UK has recorded 9.58 million cases of Covid-19 with the death toll exceeding 128,000.
“We are already feeling the impact across the capital and while we are still studying this variant, it is true that London’s main agencies are working together to minimize the impact in our city, including helping to protect important vaccination programmes.”
London Council Chair Georgia Gould said the rapid spread of Omicron across the city was now of great concern. “Local councils have stepped up and played an important role in supporting their communities through the pandemic, I know they will continue this effort but we cannot do this alone,” Gould said.
Khan asked the people of London for a booster or receive a third dose of injection. He emphasized for those who have never had the first dose of vaccine that it is never too late to get a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine to prevent Omicron cases.
Omikcon is the dominant variant of the corona virus in London Law. The UK’s Health Safety Board reported Saturday that 83.4 per cent of the sample cases detected in the capital from December 15 and 16 were found to have failed gene target S (SGTF), a way of detecting the possible presence of Omicron.
The number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals in London saw some of the biggest increases in cases over the past seven days. This week patients had increased to 1,534, up 28.6 percent from last week.
Omikcon’s cases in the UK have soared to nearly 25,000, while the total number of reported deaths among people with it so far rose to seven.
