Hammersmith and Fulham now has 200 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people

By Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter

People need to keep on following the safety rules as the  number of  coronavirus cases in west London  increases, a west London MP has said.

Chelsea and Fulham MP Greg Hands said he was “very concerned” by the rates of the pandemic.

The latest figures show that Hammersmith and Fulham has a rate of 200 cases per 100,000 people.

The overall rate in England in the week to October 22 was 215. London has an average rate of 147 – up from 108 per 100,000 the previous week.

London moved from medium to high alert – or Tier 2 – on October 15, just before the half-term break.

And the borough recorded 59 new cases by Monday, with a total so far of 2,113 out of the 89,021 cases recorded in London.

There have been 114 deaths from coronavirus in the borough, since the pandemic started in March.

The rise across London has also seen more coronavirus patients admitted to hospital, with 738 patients currently on wards, including 116 on ventilators.

The previous week there were 549 inpatients, with 88 on them on ventilators.

Medics at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust are caring for 13 people on ventilators, out of 55 coronavirus inpatients, according to their latest figures on Wednesday (Oct 28).

The trust includes Fulham’s Charing Cross Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital and St Mary’s in Paddington.

Nineteen people died in London on October 27, with 6,65 deaths in London hospitals since the start of the pandemic.

Ben Coleman, the council’s cabinet member for health and adult social care, said that it was thought the number of cases has gone up due to more tests being done, including mobile testing at Westfield.

Councillor Coleman said he wanted a two to three-week circuit break to help stop the spread and “devolve” the national track and trace system to local councils.

Hammersmith and Fulham is one of the London councils which is doing local contact tracing.

Councillor Coleman said it was reaching 90 per cent of the “unreachables” who have tested positive. The team are doing welfare checks as well as asking people about their contacts.

Mr Hands said the number of people following safety rules, including wearing face coverings, has gone up in the borough recently.

He stressed that it was crucial to follow the #HandsFaceSpace guidance to help stop the spread of the contagion.

He said: “We need to make sure that we all protect each other by following the rules.

“I am very concerned about the rise in rates locally, nationally and internationally. “

Councillor Coleman said people needed to understand why they needed to wear face coverings – to protect people from droplets they breathe out which could contain the virus.

And he urged residents to contact their councillors with concerns about any customer-facing businesses which were not encouraging people to wear face coverings unless they were exempt and follow the other safety rules.

He said most businesses were responsible, but that “no one should think they are special when it comes to following Covid rules.

“The rules are simple – you need to wear a mask if you are running a customer-facing business.  I do not want bad businesses undermining good ones.”