Sadiq Khan pledges to ‘do whatever it takes’ to keep Londoners safe from coronavirus

Passengers were today told to wash their hands after travelling on the Tube as Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had “no plans” to shut London’s transport network.

The Government’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty said it was possible to catch Covid-19 by touching a handrail in a carriage or bus, which had been contaminated.

However, Professor Whitty stressed that this risk could be eliminated by people washing their hands before touching their faces. 

“If you go into the Tube and touch the rail that’s fine. But just be aware of what you do with your hands,” he told the Commons’ health and social care committee.

“Don’t touch your face — wash your hands and then you can do what you like.” Mr Khan today announced London would follow New York in a public information blitz — using poster sites across the transport network to advise passengers how to take coronavirus precautions.

Mr Khan said he was prepared to change his thinking on imposing travel restrictions if health advice changed. However, a Tube shutdown was understood to be highly unlikely. Mr Khan told the London Assembly today: “I want to start by reassuring Londoners that we currently do not have any plans to shut down the Tube or transport network.

“However, we continue to monitor the situation closely and should the advice from Public Health England change, we’ll be prepared to take the necessary action to protect Londoners’ health.”

The Mayor was today urged by Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita to make hand sanitiser freely available at Tube stations and on buses.

She said sanitiser pumps could be a “valuable tool” in situations where passengers were unable to regularly wash their hands because supermarkets and chemists were out of stock.

Meanwhile, London hospital staff who came into contact with two patients diagnosed with coronavirus were being traced today to see if they had contracted the disease.

King’s College Hospital, one of London’s biggest, confirmed last night that two in-patients being treated for other conditions were found to have Covid-19.

One was being treated on a small ward within the health and ageing unit, which specialises in treating frail older people with fractures. 

The identity of the other patient was not being disclosed but reports that it was a King’s College student were said to be incorrect.

Health sources suggested that King’s, in Denmark Hill, might be forced to postpone non-emergency operations but this was not confirmed by the hospital. Its coronavirus response team was contacting potentially dozens of staff who might have come into contact with the patients. They were originally being treated on different wards.

NHS England today did not disclose whether the two remained at King’s or had been transferred to one of the two specialist coronavirus centres in London, at St Thomas’ or the Royal Free hospitals.

Public Health England was tracing the family and friends of the two to provide advice. Any with symptoms will be advised to self-isolate and contact NHS 111 to arrange to be tested. The hospital wards affected remained open today but visitors were banned and staff access was being limited. It came as:

There were fears that visitors to the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, had been stealing personal protective equipment such as masks and gowns used by staff. 

American Express confirmed that a member of staff at its Victoria office had been sent home for further tests over fears they had contracted the virus.

Bingo players at the Hindhead branch of the Royal British Legion in Surrey were told to self-isolate after one caught coronavirus from a relative. The venue has now been given a deep clean.

A London dentist who passed through a Milan airport is among the latest cases. Dr Richard Prais has self-isolated and has not returned to his practice at Hampstead Garden Suburb.     

A King’s spokeswoman said the outbreak was being handled in a similar way to norovirus, when wards have to be decontaminated.

A memo sent to staff at King’s said: “The trust has confirmed that two patients have tested positive for Covid-19. Both patients had an inpatient stay in different wards at Denmark Hill.

“The health and safety of our patients, visitors and staff is our absolute priority… It has been necessary to restrict access for staff and visitors to one of the wards. We have also started to trace staff who have been in contact with either patient. This will ensure that we can assess whether they need to self-isolate.”

American Express’s offices at Belgravia House, where Google is also a tenant, were being deep cleaned last night after a staff member was sent home to be tested for the coronavirus. Staff have been told they can work from home.

A spokesman said: “A colleague based in our London office with a possible case of Covid-19 has been sent home for further tests. We are doing everything we can to support the individual, and ensure the health and safety of all of our colleagues. We are engaging directly with Public Health England, and strictly following their guidelines. We are taking precautionary and safety measures including specialists to deep clean the office overnight.”