Croydon and Sutton both reported thousands of new coronavirus infections in the week up to January 3, new data released by Public Health England (PHE) has shown.
On Saturday (January 9), PHE's colour-coded interactive map showed the South London boroughs, like many of their neighbours, coloured a dark purple, signalling high prevalence of the virus and its rapid spread in the region.
In Croydon, 4,250 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the seven days up to January.
That represented a serious jump of 823 more than the previous seven days, a 24 per cent increase.
Croydon's 'rolling rate' of new infections per 100,000 people stood at 1,099 PHE said, significantly higher than the average for England as a whole of 626.2.
In Sutton, new cases confirmed over the same period totalled 2,321.
That was also up, increasing by 508 or 28 per cent from the previous seven-day figure.
Sutton's rolling rate stood at 1,124.8 up to January 3, the PHE data showed.
NEWS: a major incident has been declared in London due to the rapid spread of #COVID19 and increase in hospitalisations which has left the NHS at risk of being overwhelmed.@ProfKevinFenton asks Londoners to double down their efforts to #StayHome, protect the NHS and save lives. pic.twitter.com/EBg66HoFlS
— PHE London region (@PHE_London) January 8, 2021
The Covid-19 situation is becoming increasingly serious, with Mayor Sadiq Khan declaring a "major incident" and warning that "our NHS could be overwhelmed" in the capital as hospitals struggle to cope with the influx of severe coronavirus cases.
PHE London said the NHS was now under "immense pressure" in the city with 800 patients being admitted to hospital every day currently.
"In order to ease the burden on our hospitals, we must first stop the spread. That means we have to stay at home. Cut your contacts, reduce your movements, do as little as possible," Professor Kevin Fenton, London PHE's regional director, said.
More the latest Covid-19 data from where you live, click here.
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