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Imperial College London
Professor Neil Ferguson resigned as a government adviser on coronavirus after admitting to a “misjudgment.”
Professor Ferguson, whose advice to the Prime Minister led to the closure of the UK, said he regretted “undermining” messages about social estrangement.
It comes after the Daily Telegraph reported that it had violated rules intended to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
His modeling of virus transmission suggested that 250,000 people could die without drastic action.
This prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce on March 23 that he was imposing widespread restrictions on daily life.
In a statement, released after reports that a woman had visited his home twice during the shutdown, Professor Ferguson said: “I accept that I made a mistake of judgment and took the wrong course of action.
“Therefore, I walked away from my participation in Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies).
“I acted in the belief that I was immune, had tested positive for coronavirus, and completely isolated myself for almost two weeks after developing symptoms.”
“I deeply regret any weakening of the clear messages around the continuing need for social distancing,” he said.
He called the government council on social distancing “unequivocal,” adding that it was there “to protect us all.”
Professor Neil Ferguson is one of the world’s most influential disease modelers.
He is director of the MRC Center for Global Analysis of Infectious Diseases.
The center’s mathematical predictions advise governments and the World Health Organization on Ebola outbreaks in West Africa up to the current pandemic.
It was the work of that group, in early January, that alerted the world to the threat of the coronavirus.
It showed that hundreds, if not thousands, of people could have been infected in Wuhan, at a time when Chinese officials said there were only a few dozen cases.
But he caught the public’s attention as “Professor Lockdown”.
In mid-March, mathematics showed that the UK needed to change course or that a quarter of a million people would die in a “catastrophic epidemic”.
Those calculations helped transform government policy and all lives.
