Curfews could be imposed in the capital to fight a second wave of Covid-19, a public health chief reported today as he called on Londoners to “come together” to limit a feared increase in case. With the epidemic set to hit the city with much more force in the coming weeks, Professor Kevin Fenton, London director of Public Health England, has made it clear that more restrictions could be imposed, possibly including in the capital, to avoid tighter lockdown. In an exclusive interview with The Evening Standard, he also made an urgent appeal to Londoners, hailing them for their “phenomenal” efforts to crush the first wave and urging them to “start over” now.
- About 500,000 students are coming to London from across the country and around the world for the start of the term, which is likely to increase infections.
- Demand for tests is exceeding capacity, with the number of tests in London at around 150,000 per week, as they are focused on hot spots in the North and Midlands. The number of positive tests announced yesterday for the city was 278, although that may be an underestimate given the shortages.
- Some clusters of coronaviruses are occurring in nursing homes, particularly in the outskirts of London.
- Around 10 London boroughs have coronavirus rates of around 30 cases per 100,000 people on a seven-day moving average.
- Young people in the capital are fueling the rise, although there are other factors as well.
- It is not known where people got the virus when asked about the “clusters” of cases in the workplace.
- Schools now “understand their role much more effectively” in dealing with suspected cases.
- The tube is “safe”.
- Optimism expressed on a vaccine but warned of a difficult fall and winter.
The PHE chief stressed that the aim was to avoid lockdowns in London given their economic, health and welfare impact. “Before you get to this point, there are a lot of other things you can do to help reduce the risk of transmission and contain your outbreak,” explained Professor Fenton. “In some areas that have experienced a resurgence, limits have been placed on the time you can spend socializing. In some cases, it may be local curfews, so you don’t drink until the wee hours of the morning. “By limiting that, you also limit the time people spend in close contact with others. “ A curfew in Bolton has seen pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues limit themselves to take-out and get closer to customers between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Other measures cited by Professor Fenton include the promotion of mask wear, stricter public health warnings, and a greater focus on making workplaces safe by Covid. He also stressed that all Londoners have a role to play in tackling a second wave. “It’s phenomenal what we have done as a city in terms of responding to the national lockdown, the degree of repression we were able to achieve when the time restrictions were lifted… very low death and case rates” , did he declare. 1As we see the resurgence happening in different parts of the country, we need to call on this resolution… let’s actually say we’ve done it before and we can do it again. “As we move into the winter period, when it is inevitable that the number of cases will increase, this vigilance and commitment is really going to be required of all of us no matter our age, whatever your background, wherever you are in. the city – we need to pull together. ”
New restrictions
If needed, they can be ordered across London, rather than just targeted and localized measures given population flows. He said: “We will be working with our partners in London to identify what is the best approach, and some of these could intensify activity at the district and sub-regional levels, and for some things this may require a pan-London approach, simply because of the feasibility of implementing some of these interventions. “
Covid-19 test
“The demand is currently well above the capacity we have,” he said, with tests available in London going “where they need to be”.
Nursing homes
“For some wards, where you have a large number of nursing homes, especially some of the boroughs on the outskirts of London, you will tend to see clusters of cases happening in those nursing homes.” With over 100,000 tests per day allocated to nursing homes across the country, it was now possible to “get back on track with asymptomatic testing.”
Universities
Getting the students back was a “challenge,” he said. “We anticipate that more than 500,000 students will return to the city in the coming weeks.” But many universities were planning their own testing systems.
young people
Covid transmission rates are higher in people aged 17 to 29.
“The return to normal life for young Londoners is associated with increased transmission,” he said.
Transport public
He explained how “safe” the tube was, with thorough cleaning and high mask compliance.
“We have certainly learned the lessons from the first phase on how to create a safe transport system.”