Covid-19: 'Year of sorrow and grief' for London since first death

It has been "a year of sorrow and grief" since the first Covid-related death in London, mayor Sadiq Khan has said.

The first case in the capital that listed coronavirus on a death certificate was on 4 March 2020, according to ONS figures.

Since then 17,965 people across the city have had Covid listed as a cause of death.

It means nearly 15% of all such deaths in England have happened in London.

Since the start of the pandemic there have been 697,245 cases of coronavirus in London with 70,857 Covid hospital admissions.

The rate of death has been over 100 per 100,000 in most areas, with Havering having the highest rate in the capital.

At the height of the pandemic in December and January, hospitals in London reported being stretched more than in the first peak, with queues of ambulances outside their doors with critically ill patients.

Across England there have been 3,673,871 confirmed cases of the virus since 4 March 2020 and 382,479 hospital admissions.

Marking the anniversary of the first death recorded in the city from the virus, Mr Khan said: "It has been a year of sorrow and grief for so many people across London and the UK.

"Londoners have made huge sacrifices as we've come together as a city to get this virus under control. After the hardest year most of us have ever experienced, we need to continue to show the same selflessness and community spirit in continuing to follow the rules to defeat this virus in the weeks and months to come."

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Vaccinations are being given across the city, with more than 2 million over-16s having received their first dose as of 3 March.

Of those about 86,000 have had a second dose.

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