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A surge in COVID infections across Europe could spell trouble for the UK in a matter of weeks, Sky News understands.
Despite the enormous success of the UK vaccination program, a scientist advising the government has called for caution, saying the country is not yet “out of the woods”.
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‘The virus has accelerated,’ says French prime minister
The warning came when various regions of France, including Paris, get ready to enter a new one-month lockdown.
“Across Europe, the numbers are going in the wrong direction and we have to be careful about that because in the past that has led to an increase in the numbers here,” said the scientist.
“The decrease in cases [in the UK] it is slowing down and we are at a more fragile point than a few weeks ago.
“We are in a place that is a bit vulnerable.”
The R number, the rate of reproduction of the virus, has marginally increased in the UK this week after the schools reopened, and the assessor said he would “not be surprised” if the number of cases also increased soon.
“We do not fully understand why we see cases arising here a couple of weeks after a spike across the Canal,” added the scientist.
“It would be a mistake to assume that we are out of the woods. Things are still going in the right direction overall. It is heading in the right direction, only slower.”
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Why Vaccines May Not Be Enough To Contain COVID
Fears of a third wave in Europe have seen half of ItalyAll 20 regions once again plunged into the country’s strictest form of lockdown, which sees schools and non-essential shops closed between locations.
GermanyThe public health chief declared on Friday that the country is now in “the beginning of a third wave.”
The UK government adviser said the South African variant of COVID-19 It is the “most concerning” and one to “watch closely”.
Many areas of Italy have now returned to the stricter blockade. Photo: AP
Comes like Paris and 15 other French regions enter another confinement starting at midnight, albeit a little less stringent than previous ones, after the increase in cases attributed mainly to the faster-spreading Kentish variant.
There were almost 35,000 new cases in France on Thursday, while the UK reported 4,802 on Friday.
Almost a third of the population of France, around 21 million people, mainly in the north, are subject to the new blockade, yet it does not close schools.
