A major incident has been declared in London due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan made the announcement on Saturday following a surge in cases of the new variant across the capital.
It means there will be closer co-ordination between key public services in responding to the situation.
READ MORE: More countries ban UK tourists and introduce new rules for Brits
Mr 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 offers 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."
The mayor previously declared a major incident on January 8 due to the rapid spread of Covid-19 and its impact on the NHS, but was able to stand it down on February 26 as case numbers fell.
The news comes following reports that plans are being drawn up for a 'circuit breaker' lockdown to help stop the spread of the Omicron variant.
The proposals would see England return to restrictions last seen in April but Boris Johnson is yet to approve the plans and insisted yesterday he was not 'closing things down'.
The UK Health Security Agency has announced that seven people have now died from the Omicron Covid variant as of 16 December and the number of people hospitalised with the variant is up to 85 from 65.
