Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has declared a "major incident" due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus across the city, and the increase in Covid-19 cases in hospitals, which has left the health service at risk of being overwhelmed.
It comes as the number of Covid-19 cases in London has exceeded 1,000 per 100,000 people, putting immense pressure on an already stretched health service.
Over the past eight days, the number of patients in London hospitals grew by 27% (from 5,524 to 7,034). The number of patients on mechanical ventilation grew by 42% (from 640 to 908).
Over the last three days alone the NHS has announced 477 deaths in London hospitals following a positive test for Covid-19. The 7,034 people currently in London hospitals with the