Coronavirus cases in London have risen to a new high, with more than 15,500 infections recorded in the capital in the last seven days.
The new figures takes the infection rate across the city to 173.7 per 100,000 population, up from the previous record of 158.5 last Thursday. The number of Covid patients in London hospitals also increased to 1,244 – the highest level in six months.
It came amid news that the Prime Minister will spend the next two weeks bunkered in Number 10 after meeting a Tory MP who later tested positive for Covid-19. Four other Tory MPs were also pinged by the Test and Trace app.
In other key developments, a new vaccine has been found to be nearly 95 per cent effective against the virus. The Government in “advanced discussions” with US firm Moderna to secure doses of the “tremendously exciting” jab by next spring.
