A "major incident" has been declared in London as Omicron rages across the UK’s capital.
It is the second time this year a major incident has been declared in London because of Covid-19.
A major incident is defined as an event or situation with a range of serious consequences which requires special arrangements to be implemented by one or more emergency responder agency.
The UK's eight worst Covid hotspots are now in London, where the variant has become the dominant strain, causing the overall cases to double in just a week.
It comes as the number of Covid-19 cases in London has rapidly increased, with 65,525 new confirmed cases in the past seven days, and 26,418 cases reported in the last 24 hour period alone – the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
Declaring the major incident, The Mirror reports that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The surge in cases of the Omicron variant across our capital is hugely concerning, so we are once again declaring a major incident because of the threat of Covid-19 to our city.
“The Omicron variant has quickly become dominant with cases increasing rapidly and the number of patients in our hospitals with Covid-19 on the rise again.
"We are already feeling the impact across the capital and while we are still learning about this variant, it’s right that London’s key agencies work closely together to minimise the impact on our city, including helping to protect the vital vaccination programme.
“We know that the vaccine offer our best defence against the virus. There are now more clinics in London delivering vaccines than at any point during the pandemic.
"I urge all Londoners to book their appointment or to go to one of the many walk-in centres across the capital as soon as you can.”
Back in January 2021, Mr Khan took the same decision as the rapid spread of the virus and the increase of Covid-19 cases in hospitals were putting the NHS at risk of being overwhelmed.
England could follow Ireland in bringing in tougher Covid-19 restrictions.
There are reports that a two-week ‘circuit breaker’ could be in place before the end of the year.
On Friday, the Irish Government announced a raft of new measures which they hope will help stop the spread of Covid-19.
It includes an 8pm curfew for pubs, and capacity restrictions for indoor and outdoor events.
From Sunday midnight, all restaurants and bars excluding takeaways or delivery services must close at 8pm.
There should be no indoor events after 8pm and for indoor events scheduled earlier in the day, attendance should be limited to 50% of venue capacity or 1,000 people, whichever is lower.
Attendance at all outdoor events should be limited to 50% of venue capacity or 5,000 people whichever is lower.
Wedding receptions can take place after 8pm but with a capacity limit of 100 guests.
The Taoiseach also gave an update on restricted movement advice for all close contacts of confirmed cases.
For those who have received a booster one week ago, they will have to restrict movement for five days and take three antigen tests.
For people who have not received a booster, they will have to restrict their movement for 10 days.
All people arriving into the country from overseas will be required to have an antigen or PCR test in line with the vaccination or recovery status.
All passengers arriving into Ireland should not be advised to conduct antigen testing on a daily basis for a period of five consecutive days commencing one the day of arrival.
