London MPs believe they are being softened up for the capital being moved into the toughest tier 3 of coronavirus restrictions after being shown data showing infections are “off the scale”.
Sadiq Khan, the city’s mayor, said it was “possible” an announcement could be made by the government as soon as Monday.
The tiers are not due to be reviewed until Wednesday, but health secretary Matt Hancock is set to give a statement to the Commons this afternoon.
Officials presented figures to London MPs showing coronavirus infections in London and surrounding counties like Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire are now “off the scale” and in some cases worse than the peak in the north-west, according to one of those present.
There is also concern about rates rising over “just a few days” since last week and that areas that showed progress after lockdown “are now rising to the levels pre-lockdown”, another MP said.
There were 17 London boroughs where the seven-day rate exceeded 200 cases per 100,000 people.
According to the latest figures, the borough of Havering has the highest coronavirus rate in the capital, with 1,314 new cases recorded in the seven days to December 9 – the equivalent of 506.3 cases per 100,000 people. This is up from a rate of 321.3 in the seven days to December 2.
With tier 3 looming, the first MP said there was “big push back” from colleagues who fear the impact of closures will have on theatres and hospitality, which form a greater part of London’s economy than other areas.
Instead, some MPs demanded “targeting action” on schools as the data presented by public health experts suggested cases were rising fast among secondary pupils.
It came as Greenwich schools were asked to close and switch to remote learning from Monday evening due to rising coronavirus rates in the borough.
But deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries told MPs that closing schools “would do more harm than good”, according to the first MP.
The MP, explaining Harries reasoning on schools, told HuffPost UK: “At least their behaviour can be somewhat controlled and they can be taught good public health behaviour.
“If they’re not in school, they are likely to mix anyway without a responsible adult to intervene.”
Health minister Helen Whately did not brief MPs on what political decisions may be taken on London.
One MP complained that it appears the government will wait until Wednesday’s review of tiered restrictions across England before moving London into tougher measures, with any changes expected to come into force on Saturday.
“They aren’t taking an earlier decision despite the huge jump in infections about to swamp NHS ahead of busiest month in year,” they said. “[It’s] madness.”