Serious coronavirus cases in London are stabilising, a health chief has said.
Professor Yvonne Doyle, Public Health England medical director, said the number of hospital admissions for Covid-19 in the capital is levelling out although it is still on the rise elsewhere in the country.
It comes as the UK’s death toll reached a grim 10,000 milestone earlier after another 737 fatalities in just 24 hours.
“We can begin to see London stabilising,” Prof Doyle told the Downing Street press briefing.
“But on the other hand for Great Britain we start to see other areas increasing, particularly the North West and Yorkshire," she added.
“It’s very important that the message about staying home and social distancing is adhered to because we are certainly not past this crisis’ damage yet.”
The capital has become the epicentre of infections since the pandemic began, and is home to four of the five NHS trusts in England with more than 200 deaths linked to the virus.
Figures from NHS England show that as of 5pm on April 10, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust has the most Covid-19 related deaths in the capital at 263, while Royal Free London trust has 251.
King’s College Hospital trust has seen 234 virus-related deaths and Barts Health NHS Trust in east London had 2020.
London forms just under 30 per cent of the country’s death toll, at 2,707, but has 13 per cent of the UK population.
Mr Hancock described Easter Sunday as a “sombre day” after fatalities surged again, as he reaffirmed the Government’s social distancing measures while experts warned the UK could see most lives lost in Europe.
It came as Boris Johnson name-checked the NHS staff who “no question" saved his life, as he was discharged from St Thomas’ Hospital after a week.
The Prime Minister hailed the health service as the “beating heart” of the country after surfacing from three nights in intensive care battling the virus.
