London declares a "state of emergency" to confront Omicron

London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday declared a "state of emergency" to help the capital's hospitals cope with a surge in COVID-19 infections caused by the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, Omicron.

Khan took this step, which allows for closer coordination between different public agencies, after Britain recorded on Friday the largest 24-hour increase in the number of new infections since the start of the pandemic.

"Hospital admissions and health worker absenteeism are on the rise, so I took the decision in consultation with our partners to declare a state of emergency today, and this is a statement of how serious things are," Khan said.

Khan, who is from the opposition Labor Party, had previously announced such a case in January when mounting infections nearly made hospitals unable to absorb it.

The authorities estimate that infection with the Omicron strain represents more than 80 percent of new cases of Covid-19 in London.

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