London Covid-19 cases fall as health secretary mulls Plan B recall
Covid-19 cases in London boroughs have shrunk by as much as half in some areas, according to the latest figures, as the health secretary looks to dial back restrictions.
Cases in Havering dropped 54.3 per cent in the week to January 12, while 12 other boroughs have seen falls of more than 40 per cent.
A further 15 boroughs have recorded a 30 per cent reduction in cases.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said today that hospitalisations have likely reached their peak, and will start to plateau.
“Due to these pharmaceutical defences and the likelihood that we have already reached the peak of the case numbers of hospitalisations, I am currently cautiously optimistic that we will be able to substantially reduce restrictions next week,” he told Commons today.
The government will review its Plan B measures next Wednesday, after they were hauled in to limit the spread of the Omicron variant late last year.
The so-called Plan B rules include mandatory mask wearing indoors and on public transport, work from home guidance and Covid-19 passports.
“Eight weeks ago when this House last met for Health and Social Care Questions, the world had not even heard of the Omicron variant, yet since then we have seen a third of the UK’’s total number of Covid-19 cases recorded,” Javid added.
“The action that this government has taken in response to Omicron and the collective efforts of the British people have seen us become the most boosted country in Europe, the most tested country in Europe, ad the most antivirals per head in Europe.
“That is why we are the most open country in Europe. I have always said that these restrictions should not stay in place longer than absolutely necessary.”