London looks set to go into tier 3 coronavirus restrictions, amid soaring cases

It is “possible” that London will be told later today that it must enter tier 3 coronavirus restrictions, Mayor Sadiq Khan has said.

The Mayor’s comments came as the government’s Covid Operations (CO) committee met and London MPs were briefed in a phone call with a health minister and officials, amid rapidly rising cases in the capital.

Health secretary Matt Hancock is due to give a statement on coronavirus to the House of Commons this afternoon. 

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Khan said: "My understanding is that COVID-O is meeting as we speak - that's the sub-committee of the cabinet that makes the recommendations.

"We will have to wait and see what the government decides - it's a government decision, not my decision or London leaders' decision."

Pressed if a decision could be made as early as today, Mr Khan said "it's possible" because "we have seen over the last few days a big increase in the virus".

Mr Khan said a move into Tier 3 would be "catastrophic to our hospitality, to our culture and to retail".

He added: "If the government decides to do that, they must provide additional support over and above what's been offered to make sure these businesses don't go bust.

"If they go bust, not only will it lead to thousands of Londoners being made unemployed, but our ability to recover from this pandemic will be made much harder."

Labour MP Catherine West predicted the capital might have to go into another lockdown. 

The shadow minister, who represents Hornsey and Wood Green in the city, told the PA news agency: "With the case rate doubling every four days and with the incompetence of this Government in getting the isolation strategy working, I can't see how we can keep our hospitals coping unless there is some kind of lockdown."

Wes Streeting, chairman of the Labour group of London MPs, said: “The numbers don’t lie. We have got exponential growth in London... people should prepare for Tier 3.”

Asked if there was an inevitability the capital would be moved into Tier 3, expert Professor Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia said it “does sadly look like we’re heading that way”.

He told the BBC: “It is difficult to tell because if the epidemic is restricted to teenagers then the impact on hospitals in the area won’t be that great, but we know from the past that once it is prevalent in one age group it tends to leak into other age groups and ultimately into the age groups that are most vulnerable with the increase.

“So I’m not absolutely sure at the moment but it does sadly look like we’re heading that way for London.”

Mr Khan has called on ministers to consider asking schools and colleges to close early for Christmas, and reopen later than planned in January, in a bid to get the outbreaks under control.

The first council in in the city to break ranks was Greenwich, south-east London, have already been asked to move to online learning from tomorrow.

Schools in Islington have also been asked to close and make the same switch. 

Islington Council leader Richard Watts said there is a "serious and very worrying rise" in coronavirus across London.

Mr Khan has also called for face masks to be made mandatory in busy outdoor public spaces given the Christmas shopping rush expected over the next two weeks.  

The PM’s official spokesman dismissed suggestions that Mr Johnson might follow Germany’s Angela Merkel in tightening restrictions for the Christmas period.

“There are no plans to review the Christmas guidelines,” he said.

And he brushed aside suggestions that a new tougher tier 3-plus could be introduced for areas with high levels of cases: “We have set out teir three and what it entails. It is important that the public continue to adhere to the guidance.”

Asked whether Mr Johnson would back schools closing early in the capital, the spokesman said: “We have consistently said that not being in school has a detrimental impact on children’s personal development and mental health which is why we expect all schools and colleges to remain open until the end of term on Thursday.”