I had a good discussion with @EddieNestorMBE about Covid-19 in London on his @BBCRadioLondon show. The situation in London is very serious, with the number of Covid-19 cases doubling in the past week to nearly 50,000. Infection rates are highest in the North-East of London.

The number of hospital patients with Covid-19 in London has increased to around 3,000 compared with around 1,600 one month ago. The number of patients requiring ventilators has increased by 100 over the last week to around 360. This trajectory is not sustainable for the NHS.

The new strain of SARS-CoV-2 is now becoming the most commonly identified strain in London and the South-East of England. It appears to be more infectious than other strains, and this will drive up the number of cases, people requiring hospital treatment and deaths in London.

Urgent action is needed to control the Covid-19 pandemic in London, protect its population and reduce pressure on the NHS. This requires everyone to strictly follow the local Tier 4 rules. In particular, mixing indoors with people from other households should be avoided.

Most transmission of infection occurs indoors and it is stopping mixing of people from different households in indoor settings that is the key to breaking chains of infection. Other measures, such as wearing face masks in public spaces and good hygiene, are also essential.

Finally, I wanted to add that @EddieNestorMBE was the first interviewer to ask how I was and how I was coping with the pandemic. I explained I was staying at home except for essential trips and when working in my NHS clinic. It was very kind of Eddie to ask about my health.