No 10 issues Covid Christmas shopping warning with London on brink of Tier 3 after surge in cases

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Christmas shoppers were warned by Downing Street on Friday to be careful as London teetered on the brink of being moved into Tier 3 amid a surge in coronavirus cases. 

The case rate per 100,000 people in the capital stood at 191.8 on December 6, up from 158.1 the previous week. 

It means London is ahead of regions, such as the West Midlands, which are already in Tier 3 restrictions. 

But ahead of what is expected to be a big shopping weekend on Saturday and Sunday, with Christmas just two weeks ago, Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s spokesman urged shoppers to be cautious.  

Asked by MailOnline if shoppers should be careful when out on the high street, he said ‘absolutely’.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock earlier on Friday hinted that Tier 3 measures were coming for London when he pointed to the capital’s rising cases and urged people to continue obeying the rules and not ‘push the boundaries’.   

It came as Britain’s daily coronavirus cases increased by 33 per cent on Friday compared to seven days ago. A total of 21,672 new cases were announced, up slightly from 20,964 yesterday. 

Mr Johnson’s spokesman urged the public to follow the safety guidelines, saying, ‘I think we have been clear throughout the pandemic. 

‘We would urge the public to follow the guidelines in relation to their activity to ensure that we are able to continue to drive down the transmission rate and protect communities.’

However, he stopped short of telling shoppers to avoid busy times. 

‘I wouldn’t get into the discussions around telling people how to shop but I would just reiterate what we would say around ensuring that people follow the guidelines that are in place,’ he said. 

The warning came after hospitality chiefs said that moving London into Tier 3 restrictions – which would see pubs and restaurants forced to close once again – would have a ‘devastating effect’. 

A decision on whether the capital will be moved into Tier 3 will be made on December 16.  

Teenagers have been blamed for the huge uptick in cases, prompting a mass testing programme to be rolled out in secondary schools in the worst-hit boroughs.

MPs were briefed on Thursday night to ‘expect the worse’ after a surveillance survey by PHE revealed that the capital now had the highest rate of coronavirus infections in England. 

It is understood many MPs representing constituencies in the capital are poised to lobby Prime Minister Boris Johnson to keep it in Tier 2.

They believe the death rates in London are comparatively low and the NHS is able to cope.

A move to Tier 3 would be devastating for the pubs, restaurants and shopping sectors, especially so soon after the second national lockdown. 

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: ‘The impact of the restrictions on the hospitality sector has been so severe that it has effectively halved the country’s economic growth. Ours is the only sector seeing real negative growth. 

‘The restrictions being placed on us are having a devastating effect and go well beyond anything being experienced in other sectors. 

The frightening reality is that these figures are going to look tame compared to those for November and December when the lockdown was in effect and as the new, harsher tier system began to bite.

‘The Government needs to look carefully at these figures before making a decision to plunge more areas into higher tiers – the burden of which falls almost exclusively on hospitality businesses.’

Covid-19 cases rose in 28 of London’s 32 boroughs in the most recent seven-day period, with Havering recording the highest incidence at 389 infections per 100,000 people. 

It is followed by Barking and Dagenham, at 319.9 and Waltham Forest at 313.7.

During the most recent week, cases roses most quickly in Hackney – going from 129.62 to 195.98 (51 per cent) – and the northern boroughs of Enfield (163.57 to 243.56) and Haringey (141.08 to 208.82).

Essex also appears to be teetering on the brink of a Tier 3 lockdown, with the county-wide infection rate jumping by a third in the last week, from 145.31 to 195.14.

In a joint statement with leader of Westminster City Council, London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged shoppers to ‘work together’ to control the spread of Covid-19 by wearing face masks and observing social distancing. 

They said: ‘With cases rising in many parts of the capital, it is vital that we all work together to control its spread. Otherwise we may face tougher restrictions, which would greatly harm shops in the West End, our hospitality sector and the whole of London’s economy.

‘We are appealing directly to Londoners – when out shopping it is essential that you follow the rules. 

‘You must wear a face covering in shops and keep a two-metre distance wherever possible. 

‘We have worked to make the West End COVID secure with wider pavements – including making Regent Street car-free on Saturdays – and regular signage to help Londoners keep their distance.

Mr Hancock on Friday dangled the threat of tighter restrictions over the capital, amid rising cases.

‘My message to everybody in London is “let’s stick by the rules” and not push the boundaries of the rules, but rather try to limit the spread of this infection because the case numbers are going up in parts of London, in parts of Essex, in parts of Kent, and we know what happens when case numbers go up, sadly more people end up in hospital and more people end up dying,’ he told LBC radio.

‘So, we’ve got to stick at it and we have got to keep this virus suppressed whilst we get the roll-out (of the vaccine) going.

‘So, my message to everybody in London is “please respect the restrictions, respect what needs to be done, keep yourself and your family and your community and your city safe”.’

Asked whether London could go into tougher restrictions on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: ‘This is an incredibly important moment on the march out of this pandemic, but we’ve still got a march to go this winter.

‘People need to keep respecting the rules and try to live in a way that if you have the virus infects as few people as possible, and we are seeing rising numbers of cases in parts of Essex, parts of Kent and parts of London in particular and we’ve got to keep this under control.

‘The whole strategy all along has been to suppress the virus, protecting the economy, education and the NHS until a vaccine can make us safe.

‘That strategy is clearly working because a vaccine is starting to be able to keep us safe, but the suppress the virus bit is still absolutely critical.’ 

On a visit to London’s Guy’s Hospital, which began to give out Pfizer/BioNTech’s jab today, Boris Johnson urged Britons to stick to the rules. He said: ‘We’re not there yet, we haven’t defeated this virus yet.

‘It’s very important for people to understand… that the virus is, alas, still rising in some parts of the country. It’s rising, for instance, in London.

‘We’ve got it (cases) down hugely as a result of the measures we took in November, which have just come off. People made a huge, huge effort.’

Mr Johnson described the start of the mass vaccine roll-out as being a ‘shot in the arm for an entire nation’ but warned: ‘We can’t afford to relax now.’

Professor Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director for Public Health England, said: ‘The latest data shows case rates are on the increase again in most London boroughs, including in the at-risk over 60s.

‘Covid-19 behaves like clockwork – the more contact we have with others, the higher the chance of us catching or spreading the virus. If we want to keep infections down, every one of us needs to remain vigilant and follow the rules as we go about shopping, eating out or meeting friends outdoors.

‘We’ll need to work together to prevent a big surge in cases in London ahead of the festive period so we must all do our bit and limit the spread over the coming days and weeks. 

‘We can do this by sticking to the rules, remembering the basics of “Hands, Face, Space”, and getting tested and isolating at home if we have any symptoms.’ 

London’s coronavirus hotspot, in Havering, in the east of the city, saw cases spiral because residents could not work from home and school outbreaks rumbled on.   

Across the borough, in the east of the city, the number of Covid-19 cases almost doubled between the end of October and December 5, surging from 208.4 to 379.5 positive tests per 100,000 residents.

And breaking it into smaller areas reveals Romford and Hornchurch are at the epicentre, after cases there surged uncontrollably over the four-week shutdown where pubs, restaurants and shops were forced to bolt their doors.

In Romford North infections surged eight-fold from 64.3 to 556.9 per 100,000, Department of Health figures reveal. And in Central Romford they rose seven times over, rocketing from 58.3 to 456.6 per 100,000.

Only three of the 30 areas of Havering actually saw infections fall, while data shows almost half saw their infections double from the end of October to three days after lockdown.

The borough’s director of public health, Dr Mark Ansell, on Friday said schools – which were not shuttered during the lockdown – were behind the fastest increases in infections, but added that rates had also remained ‘stable’ in working adults because many needed to work and couldn’t afford to self-isolate. 

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert from the University of East Anglia, also told MailOnline the spike may have been triggered by schools and warned that the virus was now spreading to people who are more at risk of falling seriously ill if they catch it.

Some Romford residents today said they weren’t surprised their borough was at the centre as they see people not wearing masks, but others insisted they were ‘baffled’ and that people normally follow the rules. 

One cab driver said ‘no-one takes any notice of the rules’ while a retired businessman in the area said people had ‘lost interest in social distancing’.

Covid-19 cases are still ticking upwards across the capital and PHE data showed they are higher than in any other region of the country, with the capital staring down the barrel of Tier Three from next week.

It is in stark contrast to the North of England – mostly under Tier Three – and the South West, where infections have continued to fall almost a week after lockdown.

And amid the fears about London going into Tier 3, which would devastate the capital’s businesses, further economic pressure was added by news that the value of the pound suffered its biggest daily drop in months following warnings about a possible no-deal Brexit.  

The pound’s value fell from 1.3177 dollars compared to 1.3293 dollars at the previous close, a drop of 0.9 per cent.

Meanwhile the euro was 0.9167 pounds compared to 0.9116 pounds yesterday.

The fall represents the biggest for the past three months and good drop further as the Brexit deal deadline nears.  

The crisis came hours after the Prime Minister warned of a ‘strong possibility’ of a no-deal Brexit because of a failure to reach an agreement with the EU.