Covid crisis: One in SIXTEEN people in Barking and Dagenham infected with virus

Coronavirus - Fri Jan 8, 2021
Paramedics transfer a patient from an ambulance into the Royal London Hospital on Friday
PA

An east London borough was today revealed as the epicentre of the capital’s coronavirus crisis, with a staggering one in 16 people feared to be infected with the disease.

In the week to January 2 some 6.3 per cent of Barking and Dagenham’s population is thought to have had Covid-19, according the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

That is followed by Croydon which had an estimated 5.01 per cent of its people infected with the virus, while the figure in Bexley was 4.48 per cent.

The report was released after the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, declared a "major incident" in London due to the mounting pressure on hospitals.

Health workers have been warning of how overwhelmed hospitals will be if people ignore Covid-19 restrictions amid fears of more deaths to come.

The ONS figures, which are based on its infection survey, confirm that about one in 50 people in England, some 1.12 million, had the infection in the week to January 2 - this rises to one in 30 in London.

Earlier this week more Covid marshals were employed across Barking and Dagenham, bringing the total to eight as the borough scrambles to keep residents safe and sticking to Covid rules.

Figures published on Thursday, which took into account the number of confirmed cases, showed that more than 6,000 patients with the virus were admitted to hospitals in the city in just eight days .

Newham had the highest number of confirmed cases in the week to January 2 at 4,907.

The next highest was 4,545 in Redbridge, 4,170 in Croydon, 4,137 in Enfield and 4,024 in Barnet.

The seven-day rate has risen even higher in the capital, hitting 1,035.9 new cases per 100,000 Londoners, the worst hit region in the country.

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