Earlier today, the Mayor of London declared a major incident as a result of the prevalence of COVID-19 and the pressure it is currently putting on the NHS across the Capital.

The ONS has recently estimated that as many as 1 in 30 Londoners may be currently infected. Across the city, over 7,000 people are currently being treated for COVID in hospital.

Reacting to the Mayor’s announcement, having been briefed by Public Health England, Member of Parliament for the Cities of London & Westminster Nickie Aiken said

I've just finished a call with other London MPs and the Greater London Authority and Public Health England and NHS for London, to discuss the major incident that's now been announced for the capital.

The number of patients with COVID in hospitals now are on an unprecedented scale, and particularly in ICU beds, so we are being asked to do all we can to encourage everyone in London to adhere to the lockdown restrictions.

Please do stay at home.

Only go out for the most essential reasons: shopping, for food, a medical appointment, and an hour of exercise a day, but please do wear a mask when you are in the supermarkets and in shops.

I can't reiterate more how serious the situation is in London, and we've all got to work together to ensure we save lives and protect the NHS.

You can watch Nickie’s reaction above.

To combat COVID-19, the Prime Minister announced a third national lockdown earlier this week. You can find the latest guidance on these national restrictions at www.gov.uk/coronavirus