PA
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”.
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.
More pictures emerged of a packed Regents Street this weekend as people headed out to do their Christmas shopping.
These were taken last week.
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