Coronavirus cases in Wandsworth double in a week

By Sian Bayley, Local Democracy Reporter

The number of coronavirus cases in Wandsworth have doubled in the past week.

Data showed that boroughs in South-west London have seen a big jump in the weekly rate of cases.

Public Health England said that in the week September 21 to September 27 Wandsworth saw 29.1 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 15.9 the previous week.

Richmond was not far behind, seeing a jump to 28.4 cases per 100,000 this week compared to 11.2 the previous week.

Kingston also saw a big increase to 26.2 per 100,000 from 13.7 the week before.

Last week’s figures were also thought to be lower than the true number due to issues with testing.

It has been more than one week since all London boroughs were placed on the government’s national watch-list, but no further restrictions have yet been implemented.

Richmond council’s leader Gareth Roberts said the borough needed to treat this as “a wake-up call” as Richmond’s case rate, which has previously been very low, moved in line with the London average.

Cllr Roberts said 2,089 people have been tested in the borough over the past seven days and there was a positive return rate of 2.5 per cent.

This is more than double that seen over the previous seven days.

He warned residents: “If we do not follow the rules we could find ourselves under further restrictions and possibly a full lockdown like we saw earlier in the year.

“We need to treat this warning that these figures have given us seriously.”

Professor Kevin Fenton, London regional director for Public Health England, said London is now at the “tipping point” in efforts to limit the spread of the virus.

He said: “Londoners still hold the key to reducing infection rates and lessening the impact of any second wave by making a continued conscious effort to consider our movements and behaviour.

“Small actions can have a big impact on these trends, and by sticking to social distancing, practising good hand hygiene and following guidelines around the rule of six and face coverings, we can all play our part. Londoners have done it before and now is the time to do it again.

“Finally, be aware of your health – if you have any coronavirus symptoms, self-isolate immediately and book a test as soon as possible. Every individual can make a difference.”