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Now, don’t get us wrong: Covid-19 is still very much at large as its second wave sees new lockdown measures come into force in England today (Thursday November 5). But it’s still a bit of good news to learn that the infection rate was on the decline last week in over half of London’s boroughs. Recorded active case numbers have dropped in 19 of London’s 32 boroughs since last week, according to the latest data.
The statistics shared by the Mayor of London’s Office also revealed that across London there was an average of 146 cases per 100,000 from October 24 to October 30, down from 152 per 100,000 the week prior.
Let’s not get carried away: there are always natural fluctuations in case numbers that make it too early to call this a definitive downward trend, and it’s important to note that there are currently 990 patients in hospital in London due to Covid, a number up from 792 on October 27. But it’s hopefully an encouraging place from which to start lockdown in the capital – and could raise hopes for a swift return to ‘normality’ in December for Londoners.
‘London has lower rates of the virus than other parts of the country, so we’ll get the maximum benefit from lockdown. Hopefully we can drive the virus down quickly and reopen our economy,’ said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as Lockdown 2 began this morning.
Want to see how your neighbourhood is faring? Check out the latest data on this map of London Covid cases.
And find out what the current rules and restrictions mean for you.