Covid cases plunge in London as Omicron wave falls away

Covid cases have plunged in London boroughs by up to 54 per cent in a week, official figures have revealed as calls grew for the working from home guidance to be ditched as quickly as possible.

Confirmed infections were down in all boroughs by at least a quarter in the seven days to January 12, compared to the previous week.

Hospital admissions of coronavirus patients also dropped, raising hopes that defeating the Omicron surge is now firmly underway.

The official figures showed:

London’s public health chief Professor Kevin Fenton told the Standard: “It is very encouraging to see that London’s Covid-19 cases are now on a firm downwards trajectory.”

The infection numbers may be affected by changes to the testing regime, with people without symptoms who test positive on lateral flow tests no longer having to take a confirmatory PCR.

However, Prof Fenton added that decreasing hospitalisations, an R rate of the disease’s growth below one, and prevalence data are “a solid indication that the virus is in retreat”.

But he also stressed: “Although we are heading in the right direction, our numbers are still very high overall, and it is important that we stick with the effective public health measures including wearing face coverings and working from home, to ensure we see the back of it.”

As cases drop, calls are growing for the Government to ditch or scale back Plan B, including working from home, by a January 26 review point or earlier.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “There’s no question that our city needs workers back in the office to help support our economic recovery and make our city buzz and thrive once again.

“Thousands of jobs and businesses depend on people being back at their desks because the reduced footfall at the moment, both day and night, is having a devastating knock-on effect on our retail, hospitality and cultural sectors, which have already been hit so hard during the pandemic.