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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he did not want another national lockdown, but that further restrictions might be necessary as the country was facing an “inevitable” second wave of Covid-19.
Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson speaks at a press conference in London, Britain, in this file photo. (File photo / Reuters)
Britain will likely need to reintroduce some national coronavirus lockdown measures sooner rather than later, said a leading epidemiologist and former government health adviser.
Neil Ferguson, professor of epidemiology at Imperial College London, told the BBC on Saturday that the country was facing a “perfect storm” of mounting infections as people returned to work and school.
“I think some additional measures are likely to be needed sooner rather than later,” Ferguson said.
Ministers were reported on Friday to be considering a second national shutdown after new Covid-19 cases nearly doubled to 6,000 a day, hospital admissions soared and infection rates skyrocketed in parts of northern England and London. .
“Right now we are at the infection levels that we saw in this country at the end of February, and if we leave it another two or four weeks, we will return to the levels that we saw more in mid-March, and that is going to cause, or could , cause deaths, “Ferguson said.
Britain has suffered the highest death toll in Europe from Covid-19, with more than 41,000 deaths in the government’s preferred measure.
The sharp rise in infections has yet to lead to a similar spike in new deaths, in part because cases have been concentrated among the very young, but hospital admissions are now starting to rise.
READ MORE: Europe braces for sweeping restrictions as global infections rise
Tighter measures are likely to be taken in London
Ferguson served on the government’s top scientific advisory board until May, when he resigned after breaking lockdown rules.
He said future lockdown restrictions need not be as stringent as those introduced in March to be effective in curbing the further spread of the disease.
More than 10 million people in parts of northern and central England are already under some form of confinement restriction, such as a ban on inviting friends or family into their homes, or visiting pubs and restaurants after 10 p.m.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday that stricter lockdown measures were becoming “increasingly likely” for the British capital.
Britain’s ability to test for coronavirus infections has also suffered since schools in England reopened this month, with many people reporting that testing was not available or only possible in places hundreds of miles away. .
“We have a perfect storm right now, of people, as they have been told, returning to normal, schools reopening, an increase in cases,” Ferguson said.
Some local politicians have also raised concerns about whether companies are gathering the details necessary to track new infections.
Official figures on Friday showed that less than a third of people said companies such as bars and hair salons always collected their contact details as legally required, and a quarter reported that they were never asked for their details.
READ MORE: Pandemic Preparedness Panel Criticizes Collective Failure of Warnings
Source: Reuters
