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The country has reached a tipping point similar to the first wave of coronavirus, but is still in a position to prevent history from repeating itself, England’s deputy chief medical officer said.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said that the best way to keep transmission low and avoid overwhelming the NHS was for people with symptoms to isolate themselves and get tested, and for people to wash their hands, cover their skin. expensive and maintain social distancing.
He also said that the country now has much better testing capabilities, knows more about the disease and has better treatments than it did during the first wave.
In a statement issued Sunday, Professor Van-Tam said: “In our national fight against COVID-19We are at a turning point similar to the one we were in March; But we can prevent history from repeating itself if we all act now.
“At the beginning of the year, we were battling a semi-invisible disease, about which we had little knowledge, and it spread into the community at great speed.
“Now we know where it is and how to approach it, let’s seize this opportunity and prevent history from repeating itself.”
The number of hospital admissions for coronavirus has increased
Professor Van-Tam also warned that more deaths will follow after the Office for National Statistics showed that an estimated 224,000 people have the virus.
Hospital and intensive care admissions for COVID-19 are on the rise.
He added: “Winter on the NHS is always a difficult period, and that is why in the first wave our strategy was: ‘contain, delay, investigate and mitigate’ to propel the first wave towards spring. This time it is different already. that we are entering the coldest and darkest winter months. We are in the middle of a severe pandemic and the seasons are against us.
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Professor Van-Tam said that the R number, the rate at which the virus spreads from person to person, was well above one in every NHS region in England, suggesting “widespread transmission” across the world. country, not just in the north.
He added that scientists estimate the doubling time in the UK for new infections to be between eight and 16 days and is even faster in some areas.
He said that while during the winter months the NHS will “work tirelessly” to help people, they can’t do much.
He said elective surgeries and non-urgent services, cancer treatment, diagnostic and mental health services should continue for as long as possible, and people should come forward for that care when they need it.
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But to help the NHS, people must help keep case numbers low, added Professor Van-Tam.
He said: “If cases increase dramatically, the NHS will have to focus more on dealing with the life-threatening situations immediately before them – this may mean freeing up staff and space by postponing other non-urgent procedures and treatments.
“We need to help the NHS by keeping COVID-19 numbers low and in turn, the NHS will be there for us, our families and loved ones.
“By keeping our contacts low, we reduce the number of opportunities for the virus to spread.
“I know this is very difficult, but it is an unfortunate scientific fact that the virus thrives when humans make social contact with each other.”
The United Kingdom reported 15,166 other coronavirus cases and 81 more deaths in Saturday’s daily update.
It marked an increase of 1,302 cases from Friday’s daily figures, when 87 deaths were reported, and means that the UK has now recorded 42,760 coronavirus-related deaths.
