Skip to main content

Covid-19 in London

The Covid-19 situation in London is now very serious, with the number of Covid-19 cases doubling in the past to week to around 50,000. Infection rates are highest in the North-East of London, with increases seen all across the city. 

The number of hospital patients with Covid-19 has increased to around 3,000 compared with around 1,600 one month ago. The number of patients requiring ventilators has increased by 100 over the last week to around 360. There are also pressures on other parts of the NHS, such as GP, mental health, and community services.

The new strain of SARS-CoV-2 is now becoming the most commonly identified strain in London and the South-East of England. It appears to be more infectious than other strains, and this will drive up the number of cases, people requiring hospital treatment and deaths.

The latest statistics show how rapidly the situation can change. From a period around one month ago, when case numbers were falling and NHS pressures were sustainable, we are now on a trajectory of rapidly increasing cases, hospital admissions and deaths in London. 

Urgent action is needed to control the Covid-19 pandemic on London, protect its population and reduce pressure on the NHS. This requires everyone to strictly follow the local Tier 4 rules. In particular, mixing indoors with people from other households should be avoided.

Most transmission of infection occurs indoors and it is stopping mixing of people from different households in indoor settings that is the key to breaking chains of infection. Other measures, such as wearing face masks in public spaces and good hygiene, are also essential.

We do now have one vaccine for Covid-19 licensed for use in the UK. We urgently need other vaccines to be approved for use; along with a massive increase in supply of vaccines and mobilisation of the NHS to deliver vaccines to the population on a speed and scale not previously seen in the UK.

Table: London boroughs by highest number of COVID-19 positives per 100k population.7–day rolling rate by specimen date - ending Dec 17. The table is from @UKCovid19Stats. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the difference between primordial prevention and primary prevention?

Primordial prevention and primary prevention are both crucial strategies for promoting health, but they operate at different levels. Primordial prevention aims to address the root causes of health problems and improve the wider determinants of health. It focuses on preventing the emergence of risk factors in the first place by tackling the underlying social, economic, and environmental determinants of health. This involves broad, population-wide interventions such as: Policies that promote healthy food choices: Think about initiatives like taxing sugary drinks to discourage unhealthy consumption, or providing subsidies for fruits and vegetables to make them more accessible. Urban planning that prioritises well-being: This could include creating walkable neighborhoods with safe cycling routes, ensuring access to green spaces for recreation and relaxation, and designing communities that foster social connections. Social programs that address inequality: Initiatives aimed at reducing pov...
Post a Comment
Read more

MPH Student Presentations on the NHS Care.Data Programme

As part of a session on primary care data in the Health Informatics module on the Imperial Master of Public Health Programme, I asked students to work in two groups to present arguments for and against the NHS Care.Data programme. Care.Data is an NHS programme that will extract data from the medical records held by general practitioners (GPs) in England. The Care.Data programme takes advantage of the very high level of use of electronic medical records by GPs in England. After extraction, data will be uploaded to the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The data will then be used for functions such as health care planning, monitoring disease patterns and research. The programme has been controversial with proponents arguing that the programme will bring many benefits for the NHS and the population of England; and opponents arguing it is a major breach of privacy. You can view the two presentations to help inform you further about these arguments: Arguments fo...
5 comments
Read more

What makes a good doctor – and who gets to decide?

What Makes a Good Doctor? This is the question that Waseem Jerjes and I explore in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine . It is a key question that underpins the architecture of medical education, clinical practice, regulation, and professional identity. It cannot be answered by regulators, educators, or employers in isolation. It must be answered together – by doctors and patients – revisited throughout a career, and adapted as society and the profession change. Without that shared reflection, the danger is not simply disillusionment, but the erosion of the moral foundations of clinical work. As we enter an era when diagnosis will increasingly involve artificial intelligence and when performance metrics reward volume over value, reclaiming this question as a professional one is imperative. The integrity of our institutions – and of the practitioners within them – depends on reimagining excellence in inclusive, relational terms. A good doctor is not a flawless technician or a f...
Post a Comment
Read more