Cyclists travel in a cycle lane along the Embankment in central London on May 16, 2020.
JUSTIN TALLIS | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON — The U.K. government will soon impose tougher coronavirus restrictions on London, according to multiple media reports, in an attempt to curb the rapid spread of the disease.
The U.K.’s capital city will reportedly move to a so-called “high” alert level from midnight on Friday, up from the current “medium” alert level.
It means millions of people in Europe’s richest city will soon be unable to meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in public.
The government’s guidelines for a “high” alert level also bans people meeting in a group of more than six outside, including in a garden or other space, and says people should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make where possible.
“We’re at a critical moment in our fight against Covid-19 in London. The virus is spreading rapidly in every corner of our city,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in his opening statement to the London Assembly on Thursday.
“We’ll soon reach an average of 100 cases per 100,000 people, with a significant number of boroughs already over that threshold. Hospital admissions are up. More patients are going into Intensive Care Units. And, sadly, the number of Londoners dying every day is increasing again.”
“It’s my expectation that the government will today announce that London will shortly be moving into tier 2 — or the ‘high alert’ level of restrictions,” Khan said.
To date, the U.K. has recorded more than 657,000 cases of Covid-19, with 43,245 related deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
