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Commuters at Leeds train station on Monday morning
Two members of the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have given stark warnings about rising coronavirus cases across the country.
Professor John Edmunds said the cases are now “increasing exponentially.”
While England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van Tam, said people had “become too relaxed” and must start taking the virus seriously again.
2,948 cases were reported in the UK on Monday, according to government data.
This follows 2,988 new cases that were announced on Sunday, which was the highest number since May 22.
Professor Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told ITV’s Robert Peston that the R number, which classifies Covid-19’s ability to spread, had risen “above one”, thus the UK was in a “risk period”.
“We can see that the epidemic is taking off again. So I don’t think we’ve reached that sweet spot where we’ve been able to control the epidemic and allow the economy to return to some kind of normalcy,” he said.
Professor Edmunds, who had previously said that he wished the UK had entered a national lockdown sooner than it did, added that cases were increasing from a “relatively low level” but “are now increasing exponentially”.
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On Monday, Professor Van Tam described the latest “big change” in coronavirus infections in the UK as a “major concern”.
“People have become too relaxed. Now is the time to re-engage and realize that this is an ongoing threat to us,” he said.
Professor Van Tam added that hospital admissions and deaths were “at a very low level” in the UK and the increase in cases was most prominent among people aged 17-21, but the country is at risk of continuing. the trajectory of some EU countries.
“When the number of cases initially increases in the younger parts of the population, it in turn leaks out and begins to give high rates of illness and hospital admissions in the older age groups, and we know that later it becomes a serious problem public health, “he said. said.
“The fact that young people from 17 to 21 years old do not get sick means that they are lucky, but they also forget because the disease is not serious for them that they are powerful propagators.”
He said the UK is in for “a bumpy ride in the next few months” if people don’t adhere more strictly to social distancing rules.
Wake up call for the public
Professor Jonathan Van Tam was known for his outspokenness at Downing Street press conferences before the pandemic.
Now England’s deputy chief medical officer has again issued a strong warning about the spread of the virus.
Simply put, you think there has been a significant and worrying change in the past few days. It is no longer just about local outbreaks, but in his opinion there is now a general spread of the disease in many parts of the country.
It suggests that social distancing has collapsed in some parts of society and points to an increase in the number of cases among 17-21 year olds.
That doesn’t mean that hospital admissions, currently relatively low, will definitely go up. But Professor Van Tam believes that this is very possible.
He hinted that the next week would be critical as officials and ministers studied the emerging data.
This is a wake-up call for the public to get real about social distancing, from a medical leader who is clearly concerned.
The comments from Sage scientists come as more parts of the UK face stricter restrictions following an increase in the number of cases.
The stricter rules on home visiting were extended to two more areas in the west of Scotland from midnight.
In Wales, the Caerphilly county district will be placed under a local lockdown starting at 18:00 BST on Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, council leaders in northeast England have said the average number of new cases in the region has doubled to around 80 a day, in just over a week.
A joint statement by seven council leaders said: “We have seen cases where individuals with symptoms were tested, then went out and infected others before we got the results: reckless and selfish behavior.”
The statement also warned companies that they would be closed if they did not record customer details to aid the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing program.
“We all have to do our bit and play our part if we want to avoid a possible second wave,” the leaders said.
The warnings come after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a change in England’s quarantine policy, taking an approach that allows the islands to have separate rules from the mainland of a country.
He said travelers arriving in England from seven Greek islands will have to isolate themselves for 14 days starting at 04:00 BST on Wednesday.
They are Crete, Lesbos, Mykonos, Santorini, Serifos, Tinos, and Zakynthos (also known as Zante).
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