Sutton recorded the highest Covid-19 infection rate of any London borough with over 1,000 new cases in a week according to the latest Public Health England (PHE) data.

The latest data on Covid-19 cases published on the PHE Covid dashboard charted cases by local authority in the seven days up to October 19.

It showed that Sutton reported 1,064 new Covid-19 infections over the period, up by 431 or 68.1 per cent on the previous week's figure.

That meant the borough's infection rate per 100,000 people stood at 512.3 in the seven days to October 19, higher than any other London borough according to the data.

Sutton's neighbouring boroughs also reported rising numbers of new Covid-19 cases over the period but lower infection rates.

In Merton, for example, there were 615 new cases, up 91 or 17.4 per cent on the previous figure, with the case rate at 297.9.

And in Croydon, new cases numbered 984, up 120 or 13.9 per cent. The case rate stood at 253.2.

Professor Adam Finn, who is on the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), pointed out on Sunday (October 24) that Covid-19 hospital admissions and deaths were rising, and warned against complacency in what he said is a "worsening" situation.

"And they will go up as the number of cases go up because the virus will reach people who are vulnerable and who may get seriously ill," he told Trevor Phillips On Sunday on Sky News. "So I think we can’t be complacent about this. This is a worsening situation in an NHS which is already under enormous pressure."

Finn added that he hoped the government would evolve its approach to tackling the spreading virus accordingly. Asked if the Government should move to Plan B now, and he said: "Well, some kind of Plan B... And I worry in fact that the vaccine programme itself is suffering as a consequence of this suggestion that somehow the problem’s gone and we can all go back to normal again, because that will increasingly make people jump to the conclusion that if they’ve not been vaccinated there’s no real need to do it."

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