Chris Whitty warns there will be ‘many more’ Covid deaths in the coming weeks

The UK will suffer “many more” deaths from Covid in the coming weeks as it takes time for a vaccine to protect the most vulnerable, Chris Whitty warned tonight.

England’s chief medical officer said the death toll “appears as if [they have] flattened but at a very high level. “

Adding people had to be “realistic”, the medical director said it was still an “incredibly high number” and that it will only “go down relatively slowly over the next two weeks.

He said: “Sadly, we will still have more deaths to add to that sad total.” He continued: “Unfortunately, we will see many more deaths in the coming weeks before the effects of the vaccines begin to be felt.”

It came as the UK officially surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths, nearly a year after the first cases were recorded in Britain.

Today 1,631 new deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total to 100,162.

Data from the Office for National Statistics also shows that deaths in which Covid-19 is recorded as a cause on death certificates far exceeded 100,000.

The prime minister said tonight that he was “deeply sorry” for the total and promised to “learn the lessons, reflect and prepare” in the future.

However, he also claimed that “we did everything we could” and celebrated the total vaccination, despite a litany of complaints about PPE, testing and tracing and shutdown times, and Britain has one of the highest mortality rates. of the world.

He also claimed that Britain’s preparedness for a future pandemic was “colossal compared” to what it was before Covid-19. Its Chief Scientific Advisor once said that 20,000 deaths would be a “good result.”

The prime minister said: “On this day, I really should repeat that I deeply regret every life that has been lost and, as prime minister, I take full responsibility for everything the government has done.”

And the grim-faced prime minister promised, once the pandemic storm passes, “we will make sure we learn the lessons and reflect and prepare.”

But Johnson insisted that the government had done its best, even though Professor Whitty admitted he was wrong about the masks and asymptomatic transmission.

England’s medical director said: “We have learned a lot, we are learning and we will learn about this.

“There are things that we have learned scientifically; now we understand the virus in a way that we did not understand. And some of the science has undoubtedly changed some of our understanding of what science meant has changed.

“For example, at first we were quite cautious about whether masks were useful. We decided that they were based on increasing levels of evidence.

“At first, we didn’t realize the importance of asymptomatic transmission, for example. I think we now recognize that it is a very important part. “

He added that doctors had also learned things “clinically” about better treatment to lower the death rate, such as with dexamethasone.

And he said Britain had learned things “operationally”, which means it can now do things to deal with the virus in a way that it couldn’t before.

“We are going to have to continue learning the lessons of this pandemic because we have a lot to learn from it,” he added.

The prime minister was addressing the nation from number 10 as he struggled to focus the public’s attention away from the tragic mistakes and towards the successful vaccine implementation program.

Calls for a public inquiry into the conservative administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis increased as the grim milestone was reached.

Britain currently has the worst per capita death rates in the world, prompting a new round of questions about what was so tragically wrong.

Keir Starmer said the grim figure was a “national tragedy and a terrible reminder of all that we have lost as a country.”

He said: “We must never become insensitive to these numbers or treat them as mere statistics. Each death is a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, a partner or a colleague. It’s an empty chair at the dining room table.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, Chairman of the Board of the British Medical Association, said: “We must not and will not forget this day.

“The day we mourn the death of a hundred thousand people from a virus that has wreaked havoc on our health service, nation and society.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “My thoughts go out to each and every person who has lost a loved one; behind these heartbreaking numbers are friends, families and neighbors.

“I know how tough the past year has been, but I also know how strong the determination of the British public is and how hard we have all worked together to overcome this.”

Sam Royston, Marie Curie Director, added: “The cold and unimaginable reality of this figure hides the 100,000 people behind the figure.

“People who were loved. People leaving behind families, friends and communities who are suffering right now. People are suffering in the most challenging circumstances and our society is ill-prepared to respond to death, of this complexity, on a scale so big. . “

NHS Providers Executive Director Chris Hopson said: “This is a terrible milestone that we have reached and behind every death there will be a story of pain and grief.”