London coronavirus cases falling in more than half of boroughs
Coronavirus cases are falling in more than half of London boroughs, according to official figures, as the capital begins to see the effects of the rule of six and orders to work from home.
Latest figures from Public Health England showed that cases of Covid-19 are falling in 19 out of 32 London boroughs, suggesting the virus is losing its grip across the city.
Kingston upon Thames has seen the biggest drop in confirmed cases, recording 104 new infections in the week to 30 October — down 28 per cent on the previous week.
Kensington and Chelsea saw cases drop 21 per cent over the same period, with 53 new confirmed cases taking its rate of infection to 124.9 per 100,000.
Ealing, which is currently the worst-affected borough in the capital, has seen new infections drop more than 16 per cent over the past week, recording 643 new cases.
However, the picture remains varied across London, with 13 boroughs recording a spike in infections.
Bexley and Waltham Forest both recorded increases in new infections of more than 15 per cent in the week to the end of October.
The proportion of people testing positive out of those tested is believed to still be on the rise in around two thirds of London boroughs, and sinking in about a third of boroughs. The positivity rate for the capital as a whole stands at around 7.7 per cent.
| London borough | Change in number of infections in week to 30 October (%) |
| Barking and Dagenham | +7.2 |
| Barnet | -13.3 |
| Bexley | +15.7 |
| Brent | -8.5 |
| Bromley | -13.2 |
| Camden | -18.1 |
| Croydon | +5.5 |
| Ealing | -16.4 |
| Enfield | -4.4 |
| Greenwich | +17.5 |
| Hackney and City of London | -16.8 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | -8.5 |
| Haringey | -11.4 |
| Harrow | +0.3 |
| Havering | +21.9 |
| Hillingdon | +4.9 |
| Hounslow | -4.5 |
| Islington | -3.8 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | -21.4 |
| Kingston upon Thames | -28.3 |
| Lambeth | +6.8 |
| Lewisham | -2.2 |
| Merton | +8.2 |
| Newham | +3.7 |
| Redbridge | +1 |
| Richmond upon Thames | -10.9 |
| Southwark | -15.7 |
| Sutton | -3.3 |
| Tower Hamlets | -2.8 |
| Waltham Forest | +15.1 |
| Wandsworth | -15.4 |
| Westminster | +0.8 |
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the capital is “seeing initial signs that the increase in infections across the capital has started to slow down”, the Evening Standard first reported.
It comes after figures released last week by the Department of Health and Social Care showed London had the highest rate of infection in the whole country.
Research by Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori found that London’s ‘R rate’ — the rate of spread of infection — catapulted to a best estimate of 2.9 in the week to 25 October — the highest rate in England.
The capital will today join the rest of the country in a month-long national lockdown, which will see the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants.
People will be told to stay at home at all times, except when leaving for school, college, university, medical appointments, essential work and food shopping.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday warned the country could suffer deaths “on a grievous scale” without fresh action, with hospitals set for “extraordinary trouble” next month.