London now has highest Covid infection rate in England

Public Health England’s survey for the week of November 30 to December 6 gave the capital an infection rate on 191.8 per 100,000 people.

This is higher than areas which are largely under strict Tier 3 restrictions, such as the West Midlands, which has an infection rate of 158.4 per 100,000.

London remains under more lenient Tier 2 restrictions, which allow hospitality venues to remain open.

In the previous week, London registered 158.1 cases per 100,000, as the latest data shows case rates have increased in 24 of the capital’s 32 boroughs.

In eastern England the rate has risen from 116.2 to 147.2 per 100,000, while in the south east the rate has increased from 142.2 to 160.8 per 100,000.

All other regions of England recorded a week-on-week fall.

Yesterday, a leading public health official warned that London must be placed under Tier 3 restrictions within the next 48 hours to avoid a “terrible situation” over the Christmas period.

Professor John Ashton, a member of Independent Sage and a former regional director of public health for the north west, said that London’s situation requires urgent review.

Sadiq Khan has also urged Londoners to help ensure the city is not placed into tougher Covid-19 restrictions.

A spokesman for the London mayor warned there could be a "devastating" surge in cases this winter should people fail to follow the existing Tier 2 coronavirus measures.

It comes as the latest data shows that the rate of new Covid-19 cases has increased in 24 of London's 32 boroughs for the seven days leading up to December 3.

Government officials are due to review England's tiered restrictions on December 16.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said people in the capital must follow the rules or risk being placed into a Tier 3 lockdown.

"If we begin to act like this virus has gone away we could see a devastating further surge in cases at a time of year when our NHS is already under enough pressure," the spokesman said.